Brihat Samhita_IJID-040-Vanadeep

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Indian J. Innovations Dev., Vol. 1, No. 4 (Apr 2012) ISSN 2277 – 5390

Research article “Meticulous Meteorology Enshrined in the Brihat Samhita” Vanadeep K et al.Indian Society for Education and Environment (iSee) http://iseeadyar.org/ijid.htm

Meticulous and meritorious meteorology enshrined in the BrihatSamhita – A comparative case study over four Indian regions

situated in diverse climatic zonesVanadeep K1*, Sada Siva Murty R2, Krishnaiah M3

1Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India-5175022Rashtriya Sanskrita Vidya Peetha, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India- 517502

3Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India-5175021*[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

AbstractThe Brihat Samhita is the magnum opus of Varaaha Mihira, comprising about 4000 verses (slokams). Among these, 27predictions were chosen for the present study, which were sub-divided into Movement of Venus, Raahu’s course, Predictionsbased on planetary conjunctions, Prediction for the Sun’s entry into Aardra star, Predictions based on the directions of cloudsand winds and Predictions based on lunar conjunctions. These predictions were compared with the on-site real-time recordedvalues of meteorological parameters like rainfall, wind velocity, wind direction, cloud direction, etc. over four Indian regions,viz. Tirupati, Ajmer, Shillong and Port Blair, situated in diverse climatic zones of the country. The period of study was from1992- 1993 to 2002 – 2003, using the data provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Despite being compiledand formulated about 1500 years prior to contemporary times, these predictions maintained a healthy success rate in significantnumber of instances. During some episodes, they were spot – on with the forecast as the actual measured parameters reflectedthe same trend. Tirupati and Ajmer were found to comply more with the predictions than Shillong and Port Blair, though insome cases, the latter two exhibited a relatively better association compared with the former duo. Overall, the rate ofcorrespondence was above 50%. Many a time, it was around 55% - 57%, barring a few cases where there was complete oralmost complete correlation with the documented data, where correlation stretched from as high as 80% to 100%. Furthermore,intensive investigation – oriented studies need to be initiated in this direction, while the government and other scientificestablishments need to encourage the students and researchers by providing appropriate incentives and facilitating Research &Development on this front.

Key words: Brihat Samhita; Varaaha Mihira; Lunar Mansion; Asterism; Nakshatram; Conjunction; Aadhaka; Drona;Kartari/Kaarti; Raahu; Vaayu Dhaaranas; Climatic Zones.

IntroductionEver since the dawn of human civilization, India

has been the quintessence of multi-facetedknowledge. The early Vedic period Indians wereardent observers and worshippers of nature. Someof their principal deities were Indra (King ofGods), Varuna (Rain-God), Agni (Fire-God), Surya(Sun-God), Vaayu (Wind-God), etc., who are thepersonifications of the basic and life-sustainingelemental entities of the mother nature. In duecourse of time, this weather observation developedinto a full-fledged science and by latter Vedicperiod, our ancestors were capable of predictingseveral meteorological phenomena based on both

theoretical and observational methods. The HinduAlmanac Panchangam, which has ever since (fromabout 5000 years) been a part and parcel of day-to-day life of Indians, contains theoretical andempirical predictions pertaining to various aspectsbased on centuries of meticulous study.

On the other hand, there are some treatises likeBrihat Samhita of Varaaha Mihira, Artha Shaastraof Chanakya, etc. which encompass a blend of boththeoretical and observational principles. Especiallythe encyclopedic treatises like the Brihat Samhitaembrace the science of meteorology in apraiseworthy approach. The meteorologicalformulations in the Brihat Samhita are based onplanetary conjunctions, transits, nakshatram (star)

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influences, omens from animals, birds, etc.,prognostics from flowers and creepers and otherportents such as earth quakes, glow at the horizon,meteors, halos, etc., which were believed to be theenvoys of rain and weather changes. So, it can beeffectively surmised that our ancestors hadconstrued and put forth these theories aftercenturies of meticulous and intricate observations,which might have involved both instrumental andspiritual-insight observations that draw from avariety of religious traditions. (Roncoli et al,2001). The India Meteorological Department(IMD) has been giving rainfall prediction basedon 8 parameters using Power Regression Model,which are listed below: (Varshneya et al., 2010)

1. Arabian Sea Surface Temperature (January +February)

2. Eurasian Snow Cover (December of PreviousYear)

3. North-West Europe Mean Temperature(January)

4. Nino-3 SST (July + August+ September of theprevious year)

5. South Indian Ocean SST Index (March)6. East Asia Pressure (February + March)7. Europe Pressure Gradient (January)8. 50 h Pa Wind Pattern (January + February)

Further, multifarious astrological methods andrainfall prediction techniques have been discussedelaborately by Bhat et al (2005) and Varshneya andVaidya (2002). The Yaagas or Sacrificial ritualswere considered to bring about beneficial rainfall,right from the Vedic Period.

Varaaha Mihira starts the chapter on‘Pregnancy of Clouds’ in the Brihat Samhita, witha sloka that reads thus: “As food forms the very lifeof living beings, and as that food is dependent onmonsoon, a devoted investigation of the monsoon isof utmost importance”( Garbha Lakshanam,Chapter XXI, Slokam 1).

The Holy Bhagavad Geetha also proclaims thesame theory in the following manner:“Annaat bhavanti bhootaaniParjanyadanna sambhavaha

Yagnyaat bhavati ParjanyoYagnyaha karma samudbhavam”[The Bhagavad Geetha, Ch. III (Karmayogam),Slokam 14]

This means ‘Creatures (bhutaani) are born(bhavanti) from food (Annam); Food originates(Sambhavaha) by rain (Parjanya); Rain originates(bhavati) through Yagnyam; Yagnyam can beinstigated and initiated only through activity/work(Karma)’. In case of Parjanya Yaagas (Vedicsacrifices performed for rain; Parjanya in Sanskritmeans ‘Rain’), the overall success rate was about80% (Kale et al., 2005). Based on a paperpresented by Varshneya et al. (2010) at the ‘SecondWorld Congress on Vedic Sciences’ held atBanaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Indiain February 2007, the same have reported afascinating fact that in the summer of 1950, whenDr, Babu Rajendra Prasad visited “Panchmadhi” inMadhya Pradesh, a primary school teacherpresented his research paper on “Dwaadasa(Twelve) Jyotirlingams” (The twelve places inIndia where Lord Siva, The Merger/Destroyer

Table 1. The Twelve Jyotirlingams and their locations in India. To thislist of 12 Jyotirlingams, the Amarnath lingam (ice-formation) located

in the state of Jammu & Kashmir is often included in place of theOmkareshwar lingam in Madhya Pradesh

Jyotirlangam Name State Location

1. Somnaath Gujarat Prabhaas Pattan,Saurashtra

2. Mallikaarjuna Andhra Pradesh Sreesailam, KurnoolDistrict

3. Mahaakaaleswara Madhya Pradesh Mahaakaal, Ujjain

4. Omkaareswara Madhya Pradesh An island in RiverNarmada, Omkareswar

5. Kedaarnaath Uttarakhand Kedarnath6. Bheema Sankara Maharashtra Bheema Sankar7. Kaasi Viswanaatha Uttar Pradesh Varanasi (Benaras)

8. Tryambakeswara Maharashtra

Tryambakeswar nearNasik, the place fromwhere River Godavarioriginates

9. Baidyanaath Jhaarkhand Santhaal ParaganaasDivision

10.Naageswara Gujarat Daaruka Vana,Dwaaraka

11.Raameswara Tamilnadu Rameswaram

12.Ghrishneswara Maharashtra Near Ellora caves,Aurangaabad District

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among The Hindu Trinity, is worshipped as aJyotirlingam; ‘a pillar of light or fire’, revered bythe Hindus to be extremely auspicious, as LordSiva appeared as a Jyotirlingam on the night of theArudra Nakshatram (Star)).

In this research paper, he convincingly sustainedhis findings that the twelve Jyotirlingams (Table 1)are originally “Holy Fire Places”, which aresupposed to be the centers that attract andaccelerate the monsoon cycle in “Bharat Khand”(the Indian Sub-Continent). India, Pakistan, EastAfrica, Madagascar, West Indies, South America,Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, SriLanka and North Australia get rains from thismonsoon. Hence, late and weak monsoonoccurrence very badly affects these regions. Thishas been published in a booklet, by Shri YogirajVed Vignan Ashram, Kasarvadi, Barshi,Maharashtra, India; 88 pp. (Varshneya et al,2010).

Moreover, there is a considerable anecdotaldescription in ancient literature to believe that themonsoon phenomenon was well known in Indiasince early Vedic Period (c.4000-3000 BC). Inancient texts, there lies some information aboutsome techniques of rainfall measurement. But, themajor shortfall here is the non-availability of anyrecorded outcomes of those measurements(Iyengar, 2004), which creates a yawning voidbetween the age-old heritage and the contemporarycompetence. Various methods of indigenous rainforecasting, including Panchangam predictions,folk lore, portents, prognostics, etc. have beenstudied in Visakhapatnam, Ranga Reddy andAnantapur regions of Andhra Pradesh (RaviShankar et al, 2008)

Hence, to overcome this discrepancy, effortsneed to be directed towards abridging the cavitybetween the sacrosanct indigenous ancient wisdomand the modern sophisticated technologicalprudential prowess. Therefore, in the present study,an attempt has been made to compare themeritorious meteorological principles enshrined inthe Brihat Samhita with the meticulous modern-day recorded observations provided by the India

Meteorological Department (IMD) for a period often years (1993-2003) over four Indian regions;Tirupati, Ajmer, Shillong and Port Blair, situated indifferent geographical and climatological zones ofthe country.

Materials and MethodsVaraaha Mihira and Brihat Samhita

Varaaha Mihira (505 A.D -587 A.D.) was amulti-faceted doyen Indian Scientist,Mathematician, Poet, Astronomer and anAstrologer of rare merits. He was believed to beamong the Nava Ratnas (The Nine Gems; Navameans ‘nine’ and Ratnam stands for ‘gem’,signifying the nine eminent scholars) in the court ofthe legendary king Vikramaaditya of Ujjain inMadhya Pradesh, who is thought be the Guptaemperor Chandra Gupta II, bearing the titles of‘Vikramaaditya’ and ‘Bhoja’. The Navaratnas are:Kalidaasa, Betala Bhatta, Varaaha Mihira,Dhanvantari, Amarasimha, Vararuchi, Bhaktamarastotra, Shanku and Ghatakarpura. Sometimes, thenames of Arya Bhatta and Kshapanaka are alsoincluded in other versions. Sun God was thetutelary deity of Varaaha Mihira’s family andancestors. The very word ‘Mihira’ is one of thevarious names attributed to the Sun and Varaahapoints to one of the ten incarnations (Avataaras) ofLord Vishnu; that of a wild boar (Varaaha). InBrihat Samhita, we find that Varaaha Mihira startssome chapters with an invocation addressed toLord Vishnu or Lord Naarayana. Some scholarssay that ‘Varaaha’ is the greatest award of theMagadha Empire, the emblem of which is Varaaha(Wild Boar). Most of the astrologers put forward atale that Mihira had predicted the death of KingVikramaaditya’s son at the hands of a wild boar.But, despite extensive security measures, the princewas killed while playing in the garden when he fellon an idol of Varaaha (Wild Boar has two sharpprotruding teeth on both sides of its mouth). Fromthen, everyone started calling him ‘Varaaha’Mihira. His father’s name ‘Aaditya Daasa’ alsopoints to the conclusion that Varaaha Mihira’sancestors were staunch worshippers of the Sun (InSanskrit, Aaditya means ‘Sun’ as he is said to be

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the son of Aditi, the mother of Devas (Gods) andDaasa means a ‘Servant’). The birth place ofVaraaha Mihira is a village named Kaapitthaka,which is identified with the present Kaayatha orSamkaasya at a distance of about 12 mile (19.3 km)from Avanti, the present day Ujjain in MadhyaPradesh.

The Brihat Samhita is the encyclopedic magnumopus of Varaaha Mihira that has won many anaccolade from all quarters of the globe in all timessince its conception. Al Beruni (973 A.D -1048A.D.), an Islamist scholar from Central Asia whowas commissioned by the Mahmud of Ghazni toprepare a comprehensive document on India, wasall praise for Varaaha Mihira’s Brihat Samhita inhis monumental composition ‘Kitab fi tahqiq mali’l-hind’, simply called ‘Ta’riqh al-hind’. Manywestern scholars like Dr. Kern, Monier Williamsand others have extensively studied andcommented on this outstanding treatise.

Table 2. Chapters related to meteorology in the Brihat Samhitaand total number of verses (Slokams) contained in each of them

Subject of the Chapter Chapternumber

Number of Slokams(Verses)

The Sun’s transit 3 39The Moon’s transit 4 32Rahu’s course 5 98Transit of Mars 6 13Mercury’s transit 7 20Jupiter’s course 8 53Course of Venus 9 45Saturn’s transit 10 21On Comets 11 62Canopus (Agastya) 12 22Planetary Rulership 16 42Planetary Wars 17 27Conjunctions of Moon 18 8Planetary years-Effects 19 22Pregnancy of Clouds 21 37Retention of Embryo 22 8Rainfall 23 10Moon-RohiniConjunction

24 36

Moon-SwaatiConjunction

25 6

Moon-UttaraashaadhaConjunction

26 15

The Wind Cycle 27 9Signs of ImmediateRain

28 24

Prognostics fromFlowers and Creepers

29 14

Indications at dawn andtwilight

30 33

Glow at the Horizon 31 5Signs of Meteors 33 30Characteristics of Halos 34 23Signs of Rainbows 35 8Signs of Aerial City 36 5Mock Suns 37 3Indications of Haze 38 8Symptoms of Hurricane 39 5Growth of Crops 40 14

The word Brihat in Sanskrit means ‘Colossal’and ‘Samhita’ is synonymous to ‘A DivineCollection of Knowledge’. The first segment of theVedas which consists of the collection of sacreddivine devotional hymns is known as ‘Samhita’.Hence, Brihat Samhita can undoubtedly beidentified as ‘An Encyclopedic ColossalCompilation of Divine Knowledge’. VaraahaMihira uses similes of extraordinary poetic worthlike that of Kalidaasa, Vyaasa, Bhaasa, Homer,etc. and is also a ‘metrical genius’, employingsome rare and fabulous meters for his verses(Raama Krishna Bhat, 1981).

Other works of Varaaha Mihira include themajestic master piece ‘Pancha-Siddhantika’,known as ‘the treatise of the five astronomicalcanons’, (namely, Surya Siddhanta, VasishthaSiddhanta, Pulisa Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhantaand Brahma Siddhanta), Brihat Jaatakam (a majorland-mark treatise on Hindu astrology andhoroscopy, followed extensively till date), LaghuJaatakam, Yoga Yaatra, Vivaha Patala,Yakshyeshvamedhiya yaatra etc. Varaaha Mihira’sson Pruthuyashasa also contributed to the field ofAstrology by his magnificent work “HoraaSaaraha”, a famous treatise on Horoscopy. Thesubjects dealt with, in the Brihat Samhita can bebroadly categorized under the following heads:(Raama Krishna Bhat, 1981),

1. Astronomy2. Geography3. Calendar4. Meteorology5. Flora6. Portents7. Agriculture and Economics8. Politics

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9. Physiognomy10. Engineering11. Botany12. Industries13. Zoology14. Erotics15. Gemology16. Hygiene17. Auguries18. Stellar lore

The Varaaha Mihira’s Brihat Samhita, Part One,with English translation, exhaustive notes andliterary comments by Professor Raama KrishnaBhat, a well-known Sanskrit scholar, teacher, poetand astrologer who retired in 1974 as the Head ofSanskrit Department, Hindu College, DelhiUniversity, was followed for the present study(Prof. RK Bhat passed away in 1990). This wasfirst published by Motilal Banarsidass PublishersPrivate Limited, Delhi in 1981 with six periodicalreprints, the latest being in 2010. The Englishtranslations of the original Sanskrit verses by Prof.Bhat in the above edition have been extensivelyused as-it-is at several places in the present article.In total, there are about 106 Adhyayams (chapters)in Brihat Samhita with around 4000 slokams(verses). With a glance at these sections, one caneasily infer that the Brihat Samhita is a ‘scientifictreatise with a social face’, as all of these prove tobe of highly beneficial applications in our day-to-day life. Among these, there are certain chaptersthat can be useful for meteorological studies asshown in Table 2.

Lunar Mansion and AsterismLunar Mansion: The position of the moon in itsorbit around the earth varies depending upon therelative orbital position of the earth. Each of theseparticular segments where the moon is stationedwith respect to the 27 fixed stars is known as alunar mansion. The nakshatra system of Indianastrology, the manzils of Arabic astrology, etc. aresome of the illustrative examples of the astrologicalapplications of lunar mansion system.

Asterism: It is a common place observation that thestars visible and recognized in the night sky appearto be arranged in a superfluity of patterns. The starsin a particular pattern may be an integral part of aknown constellation or comprise the stars fromdifferent constellations. Each of such patterns iscalled an Asterism. From this it can be implied thatthe stars which are supposed to be the part of aspecific asterism may not be physically or directlyrelated to one another. Hence, the study ofasterisms can be very beneficial for sky-watchers totrack the positions and movement of stars.

A total of 797 verses spread over 33 chapters ofthe Brihat Samhita provide information on weatherepisodes, to some extent or the other (Table 2).But, since they include omens, prognostics, signs,indications like haze, mock Suns, glow at thehorizon, symptoms from the formation of aerialcities in the sky, false fires in the quarters and otherportents, some of which are nebulously qualitativeand require decades of observation and precisedocumentation, we cannot consider all of those forour comparative study. The following predictionshave been selected from a plethora of the like,enshrined in the Brihat Samhita for comparisonwith modern data:

When it comes to astro-meteorology, Venus hasbeen conferred a pivotal position as its transits,conjunctions, etc. profusely influence the weatherphenomena, especially rainfall. Obviously, in theBrihat Samhita, the chapter on ‘Course of Venus’(Shukra Chaaraha, chapter IX, where thenomenclature Shukra stands for ‘Venus’ and‘chaara’ means ‘movement/transit/course’ inSanskrit) houses many valuable predictions. Someof the definitive and quantitative scientific weatherpredictions in the Brihat Samhita, which have beenconsidered for this present incumbent study, areenlisted as follows:

Predictions based on Venus (The BrihatSamhita, Chapter IX, Shukra Chaaraha)1. There will be low rainfall when Venus is

situated in Makha star and its four counterparts

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in the West. (Makha, Poorva Phalguni, UttaraPhalguni, Hasta and Chitra)

2. There will be less rain when Venus is situatedin Swaati star and it’s two counterparts in theEast. (Swaati, Visakha and Anuraadha)

3. There will be good rainfall when Venus issituated in Makha star and its four counterpartsin the East (Makha, Poorva Phalguni, UttaraPhalguni, Hasta and Chitra)

4. There will be copious rain when Venus issituated in Swaati star and it’s two counterpartsin the West (Swaati, Visakha and Anuraadha)

5. It was also predicted that with Venus rising orsetting on 8th, 14th or the 15th day (Amaavaasya)of the dark fortnight, the earth will besubmerged in floods, i.e.; there may be heavyrains, severe cyclones in the sea or even atsunami, that trigger flash floods, inundatingthe entire region.

6. When Saturn is in advance of Venus, it causesvitiation of wind and sparse rainfall conditionsprevail.

7. Should Mars march ahead of Venus, then therewill be prevalent famine and drought.

8. When Jupiter is ahead of Venus, there will beplenty of hail stone rains. The autumnal cropswill flourish as a result of some satisfactoryrainfall.

9. When Mercury, while rising or setting, issituated in advance of Venus, there will beplentiful rainfall and abundant summer-cropyield.

10. When Jupiter and Venus are aligned in theSama Saptakam mode (Venus and Jupiter aresituated in 7th house from each other on amutual 1-7 axis), there will be very scarce oreven no rain at all. (This was propounded byBhattotpala, a tenth century scholarlyastrologer, author and an erudite critic whosefirst and the most authentic commentaries onthe Brihat Samhita and the Brihat Jaatakam ofVaraaha Mihira are held in great reverenceeven today. He also authored a great question-answer type text on horary astrology named‘Prasnajnaanam’, where prasna means‘question’ and jnaanam means ‘knowledge’.

Therefore, the name of this very work means‘acquiring knowledge through questioning’).

Predictions based on Raahu’s Course, i.e.Eclipses (The Brihat Samhita, Chapter III,Raahu Chaaraha)1. If a solar or a lunar eclipse occurs in the month

of Kaarthika, there will be happiness andprosperity to all, except to Kings, ministersand their followers.

2. If an eclipse takes place in the month ofMaargaseersha, it will lead to good rains.

3. If the eclipse happens in the month of Pousha,there will be scanty rainfall and famine.

4. An eclipse falling in the month of Maagha willresult in good rains and joy to the farmers.

5. An eclipse in the month of Phaalguna willprove harmful to people implying that therewould be scanty rainfall.

6. There will be erratic rainfall in the year whenan eclipse falls in the month of Chaitra

7. Good Rains and subsequent bountiful foodgrains can be expected when the eclipse takesplace in the month of Vaisaakha.

8. An eclipse in the month of Jyeshtha wouldprove inauspicious and would destroy rainsand crops.

9. There will be uneven distribution of rainswhen an eclipse occurs in the month ofAashaadha.

10. There will be happiness, prosperity and plentyof food grains (except in autumn) when thereis an eclipse in the month of Sraavana.

11. There will be plenty of food in the land i.e.good rainfall at a time when the eclipsehappens in the month of Bhaadrapada.

12. An eclipse in the month ofAaswayuja/Aaswina witnesses plenty of rain,food and happiness.

Predictions based on Planetary Conjunctions1. There will be rain during the period of the

conjunction of Mercury and Venus2. The conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter

augurs rainfall3. Copious rainfall occurs when Jupiter is

conjoined with Venus.

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4. The conjunction of Mars and Saturn will notprove beneficial for rainfall

Varaaha Mihira clearly states six types ofplanetary combinations/conjunctions in the BrihatSamhita, as follows: Samvarta (Concourse),Samaagama (Gathering), Sammoha (Tarnishing),Samaaja (Meeting), Sannipaata (Encounter), Kosa(Fellowship) (The Brihat Samhita, Chapter XX,Graha Srungaatakaadhyayaha, sloka 5). Besides,the effects of each of these fore stated conjunctionshave also been discussed by him.

Prediction for Sun’s entry into Aardra Star (TheBrihat Samhita, Chapter XXVIII,Sadyovarshanaadhyayaha, sloka 20)

The Sun’s entry in Aardra star usually befallstowards the end of the third week of May and hisstay in this star for 13-14 days till the end of thefirst week of June, experiences ample rainfallundoubtedly. This period marks the onset of South-West monsoons and it is believed that the Sun’sentrance into Aardra star triggers the circulation ofthe Monsoon winds. The word Aardra itself, inSanskrit, means ‘Wet or dampened one’, whichprojects the fact that this star is associated withrainfall.

Predictions based on Direction of Clouds andWinds

1. If the clouds rise in the East, there will begood crops (i.e. beneficial rainfall, as LordIndra is the ruler of this direction).

2. If the clouds originate in the South- East,there will be outbreak of fires (i.e., heatwave prevails). South- East is calledAagneyam in Sanskrit for which Lord Agni(Fire-God) is the potentate.

3. If the clouds occur in the South, crops willdecay for want of rain. (Lord Yama, the Godof Death reigns over this direction)

4. Partial growth of crops can be predictedwhen clouds appear in the South-West (LordNiruti is the king of this direction andmonsoon winds blow from South-Westduring June-September)

5. If clouds seem to be developing in the West,then, this portends copious rainfall (LordVaruna, the Rain-God, is the ruler of thisdirection)

6. If the clouds are observed sprouting in theNorth-East, then, there will be bumper cropyield.Lord Eeshaana, one of the five forms ofLord Siva, is the ruler of this direction. Theother four forms of Lord Siva areSadyojaata, Vaamadeva, Tatpurusha andAghoranaatha. In the divine hymn VishnuSahasra naamam, there is a slokam (verse)that goes like this: “EeshaanahaPraanadaha Praano….” Here, the Almightyhas been given the name “Eeshaana” and Heis also attributed the quality “Praanada”,which means ‘the bestower of life’. InSanskrit, Praana means ‘life’ and da means‘to give’. It can be observed that there willbe substantial rainfall during October-November in India when the monsoon windsblow from the North-East accompanied bythe formation of low pressure circulations(depressions) in seas, e.g. Bay of Bengal.Since rains are the sole source of water,which is the most vital life-sustaining entity,the fore stated description is very apt.

7. Sporadic rainfall with stormy weather ismost likely when we see the build-up ofclouds in the North-West (Lord Vaayu, theWind-God is the liege of this direction)

8. When the clouds evolve from the North,very fine and abundant rainfall may beanticipated (Lord Kubera, the God of Wealthand Prosperity, is the presiding deity of thisdirection)

(The same predictions apply for the windsoriginating from the corresponding directions, asspecified above).(For points 1-8 mentioned above, please referBS, Chapter XXIV, Rohini Yogaadhyaayaha,slokas 23 and 24)9. Clouds formed in the East will pour down

rain in the West and vice versa. The sameholds good for other pairs of

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quarters/directions (North-South; North-Eastand South-West; North-West and South-East) (BS, XXI, Garbha Lakshanam,slokam 13)

10. The winds also follow the same trendmentioned above, i.e. the direction of windat the time of cloud formation is reversed atthe time of rainfall (East-West, North-South,etc.) (BS, XXI, 13)

11. If, on the day of the full moon (Poornima) inAashaadha month, when the moon isconjoined with the asterism Uttaraashaadha,if an easterly wind blows, then, the earth isenriched with splendid vernal and autumnalcrops. The sky is covered with groups ofdark clouds.

Poorvaashaadha star, the twentieth staramong the 27 nakshatrams, is also known bythe names Jalam, Toyam, Aapaha, etc., all ofwhich in Sanskrit mean ‘water’, implyingrain. This star is also known by the nameAmbu Deva nakshatram, where Ambu alsostands for ‘water’, signifying rain. This staris said to be presided by Venus, who isbelieved to be beneficial for rainfall.Sometimes, this star is represented by thesymbol of a hand-held fan. This may beassociated with the cooling (relieving fromheat) effect of the star Poorvaashaadha.

Uttaraashaadha star, the twenty-first staramong the 27 nakshatrams, is known by thename Viswedeva nakshatram, as this ispresided by a class of Gods known as VisweDevas, who are supposed to be ten innumber. In the Vedas, they are addressed tobe the ‘bestowers of awards and preserversof mankind’. Traditionally, they are assignedthe kingship of the praavrut kaalam (rainyseason). Their names are: Vasu, Satya,Kratu, Daksha, Kaala, Kaama, Dhriti, Kuru,Pururava and Maadrava. In some versions,two others are added viz. Rochaka orLochana and Dhuri or Dhwani. Sun is theplanetary ruler of this asterism ofUttaraashaadha.

Hence, from the above, it is quiteconsequential that our ancestors insisted thatthe pregnancy of clouds should be calculatedin the month of Maargaseersha from the daywhen the moon occupies the asterismPoorvaashaadha, followed byUttaraashaadha and other lunarmansions/asterisms (stars).

12. When the wind blows from the South-Easton the same full moon day as mentionedabove, heat wave intensifies.

13. When the howling South wind is observedon Poornima day of Aashaadha month,clouds will shower very miserly rainfall

14. If on the same day, the South-West windblows ceaselessly, it causes famine anddrought in the region.

15. When there is a westerly breeze on the fullmoon day of Aashaadha, the earth isendowed with rich crops.

16. If a North-West wind blows incessantly onthis full moon day, there would be all-roundgrowth of splendid crops and torrents of rain.

17. The clouds will flood the Earth with waterwhen a Northerly breeze blows on this fullmoon day in the month of Aashaadha.

18. If the cool North-East wind blows on the fullmoon day of Aashaadha month, especially atthe time of Sunset, the earth is filled withplenteous water and the region would be richin crops.

19. If, after the full moon in the month ofAashaadha, there is rain on the 4th lunar dayof the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksham) inthe asterism of Poorvaabhaadra, then, thatparticular rainy season would provebeneficial, otherwise, it would not emerge tobe promising. (The commentatorBhattotpala describes this verse as Anaarshai.e. an interpolated one. However, someeditions include this verse at the end ofchapter XXVII, Vaatachakra) (For points11-19, see BS, Chapter XXVI, AashaadheeYogaadhyaayaha, slokas 13, 14 and 15).

20.

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Predictions based on Lunar Conjunctions1. The symptoms of pregnancy of clouds are to

be detected when the Moon passes throughthe asterism Poorvaashaadha, beginningfrom the first day of the bright fortnight of themonth of Maargaseersha. The foetus formedduring the Moon’s stay in a particularconstellation starting from Poorvaashaadha,will be released after 195 Solar days when theMoon again passes through the same asterismas per the laws of his revolution. The days ofGarbha Dhaarana (Pregnancy; In Sanskrit,Garbham stands for ‘Pregnancy’ andDhaarana means ‘to have or possess’) startfrom the first day of the bright fortnight(Shukla Paksham) of Margaseersha monthi.e., the month when the moon occupies thelunar mansion of Mrigasira nakshatram (star)on the day of the full Moon (Poornima).

(One of the most unique aspects of ancientIndian meteorology is ‘the pregnancy ofclouds’. Modern atmospheric science opinesthat the clouds are entirely formed onlyduring the times of rainfall and the process oftheir build-up starts on the very day whenthere would be rainfall based on the endemicweather factors, i.e. the clouds that yield rainon a given day are formed during thatparticular day itself. But, the Brihat Samhitaclearly states that clouds too have a gestationperiod like the humans, lasting for 195 days.During this period, the cloud develops fromthe stage of an embryo, where it is retained byfavourable winds and then transforms into afetus, which acquires its ultimate form as afull-fledged cloud at the end of the 195-dayperiod. During this period, if anyunfavourable, disparaging and reproachfulphenomena like affliction by malefic planetslike Mars, Saturn, etc., comets, meteors,excessive rainfall at the formation of fetusesand others (elaborated in the Brihat Samhitalucidly) are encountered by the embryo, then,there would be miscarriage of foetusesconsequently, i.e. there would be no proper

rainfall during the ensuing rainy season ormonsoon).

2. If there be excessive rain at the time offormation of foetuses without any apparentcause, this would lead to the destruction offetuses. Should the amount of rainfall exceed1/8th of a Drona (0.8 cm or 8mm. of rainfallof the modern rain gauge), there would bemiscarriage of the foetus.

3. The four days commencing from the 8th lunarday of the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha monthare sustained by winds. These days are calledVaayu dhaaranas. It will prove beneficial ifthey are accompanied by soft and auspiciousbreezes from north, north-east and east (Forpoints 1-3, see XXI, Garbha Lakshanam,slokas 6, 7, 30 and 34).

4. In the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha month, if itrains in the four lunar mansions beginningwith Swati, the four months commencingfrom Sraavana would be retainers of rain inorder i.e. if there is rain in the star Swati,there would be no rain in the month ofSraavana. If there is rain in the star Visaakha,no rain in Bhaadrapada month; if there is rainin the star Anuraadha, no rain in Aaswayujamonth and if there is rain in the star Jyeshtha,then, there will be no rain in the month ofKaarthika (For points 4-5, see XXII, GarbhaDhaaranaadhyaayaha, slokas 1 and 2).

5. In whichever stars (stars with which the Moonis conjoined) there is rain at the beginning,there will generally be rain once again in thedays ruled by the same stars during the rainyseason. If there is no rain in any of theasterisms starting from Poorvaashaadha atthe time of delivering rain, then, there wouldbe very less or no rain in the season.a) If there happens to be rainfall in the

asterisms of Hasta, Purvaashaadha,Mrigasira, Chitra, Revati and Dhanishtha,the total rainfall in the rainy season wouldbe 16 Dronas.

b) If it rains under the asterismsShatabhishak, Jyeshtha and Swaati, therainfall amounts to 4 Dronas.

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c) If it happens in the asterism Krittika, it willbe 10 Dronas.

d) 14 Dronas of rainfall is can be expectedduring the season if it rains under the starsSravana, Makha, Anuraadha, Bharani andMoola.

e) If it rains in Poorva Phalguni, then, thetotal rainfall would be 25 Dronas.

f) One could predict 20 Dronas of rainfall ifit rains in Punarvasu star.

g) If it rains in the stars Visaakha andUttaraashaadha, then, this would yield 20Dronas of rainfall in the season.

h) If it rains in Aaslesha star, then, the totalseasonal rainfall would be around 13Dronas.

i) A rainfall of 25 Dronas can be predicted ifit showers under the stars Uttaraabhaadra,Uttara Phalguni and Rohini.

j) When the rainfall occurs in Purvaabhaadraand Pushya stars, then, the totalprecipitation would be equal to 15 Dronasin quantity.

k) In Aswini star, a rainfall would indicate atotal rainfall of 12 Dronas during themonsoon season.

l) If it happens to rain on the day reigned byAardra star, then, the aggregateprecipitation during the season may beplaced at about 18 Dronas. (One Drona =6.4 cm. of modern rain gauge), (For points6-8, see XXIII, Pravarshanaadhyaayaha,slokas 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9).

Some qualitative, observation - oriented andmiscellaneous, yet, interesting and invaluablepredictions & bits of information pertaining tometeorology encompassed in the Brihat Samhita(Not considered for the present study)

1. An amazing mention of the comets calledTaamasakeelakas (Dark Shafts; the wordtaamasa means ‘dark’ and keelaka means ‘ashaft or a flare (of fire, etc.)), which are said tobe the offsprings of Raahu can be found in theBrihat Samhita. (Raahu is a shadow-planet in

astrology known as a chhaya graham, wherechhaya means ‘shadow’ and graham means‘planet’. Varaaha Mihira very scientificallydescribes Raahu to be the northern or ascendinglunar node). They are 33 in number and areobserved on the discs of the Sun and the Moon.These dark shafts appearing on solar orbitmight be the prototypes of the modern day solarflares and sunspots (Raama Krishna Bhat,1981).

Further, Varaaha Mihira also declares that theappearance of these Taamasakeelakas has thefollowing effects: the water turns turbid, thesky is filled with dust, disastrous storms breakout, trees and creepers show abnormal featurescontrary to seasons, animals and birds getheated by the Sun, appearance of flares in thequarters (directions), thunderbolts, earthquakes, languished people migrate to otherplaces due to famine and drought, etc. Inaddition to this, despite the appearance of rain-bearing clouds in the sky, they will not pourdown adequate rain on the Earth. In someplaces, rivers are rendered very slender andcrops sparse. All these prevalent conditionsdeteriorate the living standards of the already-famished people of those regions. However, itis also to be borne in the mind that the aboveeffects are to be prophesied only when theseshafts appear during times, other than theecliptic periods of the luminaries (The Sun andthe Moon). III, Aaditya Chaaraha Slokas 7 to16 (Aaditya stands for ‘Sun’, as He is said to bethe son of Aditi, the Mother of Gods, accordingto the Hindu scriptures).

Recent observations also seem to approve verywell with these age-old predictions in theBrihat Samhita, as they reveal that the ‘SunSpots’ appear dark because these regions are atrelatively lower temperatures compared to theirsurrounding areas. Hence, they appear blackagainst a background of the adjacent areaswhich are relatively hotter. They are termed‘comets’ because these flares rush towards the

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earth like the comets and influence the geo-magnetic field of the earth, disruptcommunications and bring about a lot of drasticand abrupt changes in climate and temperaturesby way of unusual El-Nino and La-Ninooccurrences, vagaries in the circulation ofmonsoon winds, the westerlies, tropical jets,equatorial electro jets, Doldrums, Chinooks etc.These changes in the solar atmosphere may alsocause disturbances and re-adjustments of theEarth’s tectonic plates, thereby elicitingtsunamis, earth quakes and volcanic eruptions.An in-depth analytical study of the impact ofsolar flares and sun-spot cycle on earth andhuman beings is a ‘burning’ topic generatingimmense attention.The Sun was observed unleashing twohumongous X-Class Solar flares from the giantactive sunspot AR 1429 on March 6, 2012.A massive Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)/Solarflare of M 8.7 Class was observed on January23, 2012, which is considered to be the largestsince 2005, could affect the GPS systems andother communications.In addition to the above instances, recently,similar giant ‘Sun-Spot’ activities wereobserved by the National Aeronautics andSpace Administration (NASA) through its SolarDynamics Observatory (SDO) on November 3,2011, June 7, 2011, April 12 – 13, 2010 andMarch 30, 2010.Furthermore, Scientists anticipate 2012 to beone of the most impactful years for solarstorms, Surges of highly energetic chargedparticles are most likely to fatally disruptsatellites and power grids because, thesecoronal mass ejections streak out through theinterplanetary medium, swaying lethally overany planets, satellites or spacecrafts thatobstruct their pathway.

2. The transit of Mars through the stars Rohini,Sravana, Moola, Uttaraashaadha,Uttarabhaadrapada, Uttaraphalguni andJyeshtha would destroy the formation of clouds(VI, Bhouma Chaaraha, sloka 11).

3. If after the termination of an eclipse, thereshould arise a dust storm in the place withinSeven days, it will cause famine, i.e. due toinsufficient rains and resultant poor crop-yield(V, Raahu Chaaraha, 92).

4. It is a known astronomical fact that Jupitertakes around 12 Earth Years to complete onerevolution around the Sun. As on Earth, if weconsider one sidereal period of Jupiter to be oneJupiter year, then, that is equivalent to 12sidereal revolutions of the Earth or Earth Years.Hence, 5 complete revolutions i.e., 5 JupiterYears would constitute the entire cycle of 60Earth Years. This is known as Jovian (related toJupiter) system, which is known asBaarhaspatya varsha maanam in Sanskrit(Since, Jupiter is called Brihaspati or Guru inSanskrit).This cycle of Jupiter is divided into12 yugas (five-year periods).

Generally, in the first year (Samvatsaram) of allthe 12 yugas, rainfall will be evenly distributedduring the rainy season which is spread overthe months of Sraavana, Bhaadrapada,Aaswayuja and Kaarthika. In the second year(Parivatsaram), there will initially be goodrainfall and a gradual decline thereafter. Duringthe third year (Idaavatsaram), there will beplenty of rainfall throughout the season. In thefourth year (Anuvatsaram), the rainfall willoccur at the end of the season. The final year(Idvatsaram) witnesses scanty rainfall (VIII,Brihaspati Chaaraha, 23 and 25).

5. If the mock sun (Sun’s illusionary reflectiondue to certain types of clouds like Cirrostratus,Altostratus, etc. and ice crystals in theatmosphere. Halos around the Sun and theMoon are also a consequence of these clouds.This phenomenon portends good rainfall duringthe day or in the coming days, according tomodern meteorology as well) be situated to thenorth of the Sun, there would be good rain. If itis situated to the south of the Sun, then, itwould indicate a thunder storm with a strongwind. If it is observed on both sides of the Sun,then, there would be floods in the region (III,Aaditya Chaaraha, 37). Hence, a scrupulous

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study of the mock suns may prove to be ofsignificance in disaster management.

6. According to Sage Paraasara, the presence ofVenus in the eastern horizon during monsoon issaid to be not so favourable for rainfall, but, isbeneficial to crops and grass (IX, ShukraChaaraha, Page 113).

7. If Venus appears ash-grey and coarse in thesky, then, not a drop of water will fall from thesky (IX, 44).

8. When Venus rises or sets while travellingthrough the nine stars beginning with Bharani(Bharani, Krittika, Rohini, Mrigasira, Aardra,Punarvasu, Pushyami, Aslesha and Makha),there will be good rainfall in the season (IX, 8).

9. When Venus is situated in ‘Bha’ chatushtayastars (the four stars beginning with Bharani;Bharani, Krittika, Rohini and Mrigasira), then,there will be plenty of rainfall and food (IX,10).

10. When Venus is situated in the stars Aardra,Punarvasu, Pushya and Aaslesha, good rainswith luxuriant crops can be observed (IX, 12).

11. If Venus is in Jyeshtha, Moola,Poorvaashaadha, Uttaraashaadha andSravana, then, people will suffer from hungerwith no rainfall and crops (IX, 18 and 19).

12. If Venus is in Dhanishtha, Shatabhishak,Purvaabhaadrapada, Uttarabhaadrapada,Revathi and Aswini, there will be abundantcrops with good rainfall (IX, 20).

13. If Venus becomes visible before the Sun sets,he will create panic. If it is seen throughout theday, famine occurs (IX, 23).

14. The following are the results predicted for thecourse of Venus through different stars:a) Krittika- Rivers submerge coastal areas and

cause floods.b) Mrigasira- Destroys cropsc) Aardra- Exceedingly heavy rainsd) Pushya- Good Rainse) Makha- Copious rainsf) Poorva Phalguni- Abundant rainsg) Uttara Phalguni- Good rainsh) Hasta- Droughti) Chitra- Good rainfall

j) Swati- Good rainfallk) Visaakha- Beneficial rainfalll) Anuraadha, Jyeshtha and Moola- Droughtm)Poorvaashaadha- Less rainn) Shatabhishak and Poorvabhaadrapada-

Good Rains (IX, 24 to 35)15. When Jupiter and Venus are situated in the

Western and Eastern horizons, being at thesame time in opposition (1800 apart), there willbe no rain at all (IX, 37).

16. The auspicious symptoms at the time ofconception of clouds during various months aregiven as follows:a) Maargaseersha and Pousha: A red glow at

the horizon at dawn and sunset, cloudswith halos, not much cold inMaargaseersha and not too thick frost inPousha.

b) Maagha: A strong wind, the Sun and theMoon dim by mist, bitter cold and the Sunis accompanied by clouds during rising orsetting.

c) Phaalguna: A rough and violent storm,glossy floating banks of clouds, anincomplete halo around the Sun or theMoon and the Sun in red or russet colour.

d) Chaitra: Wind, Clouds, Rain and Halose) Vaisaakha: Clouds, Wind, Rain, Lightningand Thunder (XXI, Garbha Lakshanam, 19 to22).

17. The clouds that resemble pearls and silver, orblue lily and possess the colour of collyriumwith the shapes of aquatic animals (fish,crocodile, etc.), possess abundant water (XXI,23).

18. Those clouds that are scorched by the fiercerays of the Sun and fanned by gentle breezesduring their embryonic stages will causetorrential rains at the time of delivery. (Theseconditions can be observed during the summerwhen Cumulonimbus clouds pour downheavily towards the afternoon time, when thetemperature is at its peak), (XXI, 24).

19. A foetus that is formed when the Moon issituated in any of the five lunar mansions, viz.Poorvaashaadha, Uttaraashaadha,

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Poorvabhaadrapada, Uttarabhadrapada andRohini, in any season will yield copious rains(XXI, 28).

20. A cloud embryo that is formed when the Moonoccupies Shatabhishak, Aaslesha, Aardra,Swaati or Maagha proves beneficial and rainsfor many days (XXI, 29).

21. Varaaha Mihira uses a great simile to introducethe concept of hail as thus: “Just as the milkof a cow grows thick and hard if kept for toolong, even so does the water in the clouds(atmosphere) retained beyond its time” (i.e.without raining), (XXI, 36).

22. The days of retention of cloud embryos willprove efficacious, if they are accompanied bylightning, water-drops, dust-storm and theluminaries hidden by clouds. If there bebeautiful flashes of lightning in east, north andnorth-east, very good growth of crops can bepredicted. If there be rain with dust-storm,pleasant cries of birds and if the luminaries(Sun and Moon) are surrounded by glossy,unbroken halos, then also, then, there would begood rain sustaining bounteous crop yield.Further, if the clouds are lustrous, collectedtogether and moving in a clockwise direction,there would be heavy rains tending to thegrowth of all varieties of crops (XXII, 4-8).

23. When the Moon is in conjunction with Rohini,seeds of all varieties of food grains are to beimmersed in a vessel containing water. It hasto be sensibly and judiciously observed thatwhich of those seeds and that too, whatpercentage of them have sprouted. Only thosegrains will flourish during the year and noneelse and also to the extent and proportionindicated by the percentage of sprouting grains(XXIV, Rohini Yogaadhyaayaha, 11).

Actually, this is quite an amazing and afascinating prediction. The farmers and thegovernment need to implement this as a pilot-project for several years and after cautiousobservation of the outcomes, they can take thisup on a large scale, if found encouraging. Thiswould in turn, avert unnecessary expenditure,

effort and other undesired ramifications ofcultivating an unfavourable crop during theyear that would incur heavy losses to thefarming community. This, in turn, would provea burden to the government in disbursingcompensation, thereby prompting heftybudgetary allocations for this purpose, whichcould otherwise be channelized towardsnumerous welfare schemes.

24. There are some extensive aesthetic, exotic andhighly poetic descriptions of clouds in theBrihat Samhita would remind the readers of themodern cloud types distinguished by thescientists Abercromby and Hildebrandsson in1887, some of which are stated below:a) The sky in some places is covered with

large banks of black and white clouds(Altocumulus clouds, in which one part ofthe cloud is usually darker than another).In other places, there are white clouds(Cirrocumulus clouds, which are small,rounded and white puffs that occurindividually).

In some other places, there are dark cloudsin the form of huge serpents whose belliesand backs alone are visible in their coils andwhose tongues are represented by theflashes of lightning in the clouds (Cumuluscongestus clouds, the top of which is oftenin the form of rounded towers and assumethe shape of a cauliflower, which denotesthe extent of rising air. These may also beLenticular clouds in the form of lens thatform near the mountains due to the wavescaused by moist air crossing a mountainbarrier, that often resembles a ‘CoiledSnake’ or a ‘Flying Saucer’ (UnidentifiedFlying Object (UFO)).

It looks as though the sky were adornedwith clouds which are as white as theinterior of lotus-blossoms, whose fringesare tinged by the rays of the rising Sun.These clouds may be dark like bees, yellowlike saffron and also appear in red, white

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and many other colours(Cirrocumulus/Altocumulus clouds).

b) The sky looks as if it were studded withdark clouds and beautified with dashingstreaks of lightning and the rainbow. Thislooks like a forest on fire, which teems withherds of elephants and bisons.(Altocumulus/Stratocumulus clouds)

c) The sky is crowned with clouds thatresemble the mass of boulders of acollyrium mountain and by those cloudswhich possess a luster that even annuls thebrilliant luster of snow, pearls, conch-shellsand the rays of the Moon. (May beNacreous clouds, generally called ‘mother-of-pearl’ clouds and may also be interpretedto be ‘Noctilucent’ clouds (‘luminous nightclouds’) that can be best viewed at highlatitudes especially as we approach thePolar Regions).

d) The sky is covered with dark clouds in theform of elephants whose golden trappingsare marked by the lightning originatingfrom them (clouds). The flying cranesrepresent the tusks of these elephant-likeclouds and the rain showered by themrepresents the nectar or ichor (an etherealfluid flowing in the veins of Gods in theplace of blood, as per the GreekMythology). Further, moving cloud fringesare similar to elephant trunks and the multi-coloured rain bows stand for the majesticbanners (of the Gods) held aloft. (Thisdescription can be suitably attributed toCumulonimbus clouds)

e) When the sky shines with a crimson glowat twilight, the clusters of clouds appear likedark lily flowers and the entire cloud arraywith the beautiful radiant back groundappears like Lord Krishna clad in hisyellow silken garment. (This descriptioncoincides with Stratocumulus clouds, asthey frequently appear near sunset).

f) If the clouds hang low at the horizon havingspread throughout the firmament and if thedeep and distinct peal of thunder be heard

followed by the cries of peacocks,Chaataka birds (These are birds that aresaid to be always waiting for rain and arebelieved to quench their thirst by raindropsduring times of rainfall. Their jubilant criesare said to be a definitive prognostic of animminent rain) and frogs, then, one couldpredict a torrential downpour on the Earth(May be Stratocumulus, as they appear lowat horizon and even Nimbostratus, which isa low-lying cloud layer associated withcontinuous light to moderate showers).

g) If the sky be covered with banks of cloudsconcurring with the above descriptions for aperiod of one to three days, then, therewould be abundant food and plenty of water(Rainfall) in the land.

h) On the contrary, if the clouds be rough andsmall, tossed about by the wind and havethe shapes of camels, crows, dead bodies,monkeys, etc. and be silent (without anyclangor of thunder), then, there would beneither prosperity nor rain in the land.(Corresponds mostly to Cirro form clouds)

i) If the day sky is cloudless and shines withthe scorching rays of the Sun and the nightsky appears with bright stars (cloudless),looking like a lake with lily blossoms, then,there would be plentiful rain.(Because, thisfacilitates good convection and effectivemixing in the atmospheric layers) (XXIV,13-22).

25. The following, according to Varaaha Mihira,are the signs of immediate rain:

a) Sun’s intense heat accompanied by dazzlingbrilliance and his appearance like moltengold as well as his beryl-like luster, whenhe is situated at the zenith.

b) Tasteless water, the sky with the colour ofcow’s eyes (white) and crow’s eggs (blue),salt becoming moist, subdued wind,repeated croaking of frogs and excessivetumbling of fishes ashore.

c) Accumulation of rust on iron and bronzevessels with the smell of raw meat or fishdue to high moisture content in the air.

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d) When a second Moon (Moon’s illusionaryreflection due to the presence of some sub-visible cirro form and alto form clouds)shines in the sky.

e) If peals of thunder are heard at night timeand blood-red streaks of lightning at daytime accompanied by a cool breeze from theeast, then, there will soon be rain.(It is a commonplace observation for mostof us that streaks of lightning appear invarious colours like white, creamy, red,blue, violet, etc. This colouration may havevarious causative factors like, the type ofcloud, its size, its distance from the earth’ssurface, the energy packed in it, the cloudtemperature and the like)

f) If the clouds at dawn or twilight possess thesame colour as peacocks, parrots, blue-jaysor Chaataka birds or have the lustre ofroses and red lotuses, resembling the shapeof waves, hills, crocodiles, tortoises, fish,etc. and are piled up in many layers, theywill give immediate rain.

g) If a rainbow appears at the time of sunriseor sunset along with a cross bar of clouds, amock Sun, a straight fragmentary rainbow,flashes of lightning and haloes around theSun and the Moon, copious rainfall can bepredicted before long.

h) If glow worms are seen at night near theclouds, there would be rain very soon,flooding all the fields.

i) Despite persistent rains for the past fewdays, if jackals howl in the evening, it iscertain that there will not be a drop of rain,even though the sky remains overcast forabout one week at a stretch (XXVIII, SadyoVarshanaadhyaayaha, 3, 4,5,11,12,14,16,23 and 24).

26. If a blue cloud with its top resembling curds,being situated at the zenith of the sky, screensthe Sun, then, this type of cloud is calledAbhrataru (‘A Cloud Tree’; In Sanskrit, Abhrameans ‘the one that bears water( i.e. a Cloud)’and Taru means ‘a tree’). If the clouds aretinged yellow, having a dense bottom, they

would produce copious rains. (Here, thedescriptions relate to Cumulus Congestus typeclouds with cauliflower-head like tops andsometimes, they may appear yellow due torefraction of the incident Sun’s light by thecloud droplets) (XXX, SandhyaaLakshanaadhyaayaha, 18).

27. A twilight sky which has the lustre of blue lily,beryl or lotus-filaments, which is free fromstrong winds and which is brightened by theSun’s rays, produces rain the same day (XXX,20).

28. If the Sun be screened on the right side byclouds that are white or white-fringed, therewould be rain. The same result would ensue, ifhe be screened likewise by clouds whichresemble bushes of Andropogon grass(Andropogon gerardii, commonly known asbeard grass, big bluestem grass, broomsedge,etc. This is the official state grass of the Illinoisstate in USA) and which arise in a direction notseared by Sun’s heat. (These two may beCumulus cloud variants at different stages ofdevelopment), (XXX, 24).

29. If there be mock suns touching the Sun on bothsides, there would be abundant rain. If thesemock suns surround the Sun on all the foursides, not a drop of rain would fall from the sky(XXX, 26).

30. The rays of the Sun and the Moon turned into acircle by the wind and reflected in the sky withsparse clouds, become halos possessed ofdifferent colours and shapes. (Here, VaraahaMihira states the mechanism behind haloformation in a nut shell), (XXXIV, PariveshaLakshanaadhyaayaha, 1).

31. When the halo resembles the peacock’s neck incolour, there will be heavy rains (XXXIV, 6).

32. When a thick and glossy halo during aparticular season is covered with razor-likeclouds, there will be rainfall on the same day. Ayellow halo accompanied by the fierce rays ofthe Sun would also produce rain instantly(XXXIV, 7).

33. The multi-coloured rays of the Sun, beingdispersed by the wind in a cloudy sky, are seen

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in the form of a bow which is called theRainbow (Indradhanus in Sanskrit stands for‘the bow of Indra’ as the word dhanus means ‘abow’). This shows that by Varaaha Mihira’stime (505 AD), the knowledge was prevalent inIndia that the Sun’s rays comprise the spectrumof seven colours, i.e. VIBGYOR, which havebeen described in ancient Indian texts, rightfrom the Vedas, as the ‘Seven Horses of theSun God’ figuratively. This was later proposedby Sir Isaac Newton nearly after 11 centuriessince Varaaha Mihira, in the 17th Century(XXXV, Indraayudha Lakshanaadhyaayaha,1).

34. If a rainbow is unbroken, bright, glossy, thick,vividly multi-coloured and touching the earth atboth its extremities with a ‘double’ appearance(two rainbows formed adjacent to each other),this phenomenon would culminate in theoccurrence of favourable rains (XXXV, 3).

35. A rainbow seen in the middle of water leads todrought. If it is spotted on land, it results in thedestruction of crops (XXXV, 5).

36. A rainbow seen in the east when there isliterally no rain will produce rain and similarly,when it is seen in the east, when there are rains,there will be no rain. But, however, the flourishof a rainbow in the west always signpostsrainfall (XXXV, 6).

37. An aerial city (Gandharva Nagaram inSanskrit; the word Gandharva representsmythological celestial beings, who are believedto possess exceptional expertise in singing andNagaram is synonymous to ‘a city’) of palewhite colour causes the fall of thunderbolts andstorms (XXXVI, Gandharva NagaraLakshanaadhyaayaha, 4).An aerial city (Gandharva Nagaram) is anelegant description by our ancient seers, of aspectacular atmospheric episode, wherein theclouds, shaped by the rising air drafts undergovarious patterns of arrangements resembling amagnificent aerial city constructed with clouds.Here, one can effortlessly infer that the cloudsthat constitute such aerial cities are altocumulusand cumuliform clouds. Some altocumulus

clouds are known as “Castellanus” cloudsbecause they are like ‘little castles’ of a city inappearance, which coincides with the abovedescription. Moreover, cumulus clouds exhibitpronounced vertical development. Small andunregimented cumulus clouds known ascumulus humilis, gradually develop into morecomplex cumulus congestus, which aretowering cumulus clouds, which initially look‘pale white’, ‘creamy’ or ‘curdy’ in colour. Ifthese clouds continue to develop vertically,then, they transform into giganticcumulonimbus clouds that occur as isolatedindividual clouds or even as an integral entityof a ‘wall of such clouds’. These cumulonimbusclouds are associated with severethunderstorms, gale winds and hail.When Varaaha Mihira asserts in the aboveprediction that an aerial city of pale whitecolour causes thunderbolts and storms, it shouldbe understood that he was speaking of a similarphenomenon discussed here above.

38. The Sages have declared that the effects of theindications portended by haze would berealised completely, only in seasons other thanwinter (This is because, in winter, the weatheritself normally remains hazy owing to snow,fog, moisture or humidity in air and incompletedispersion of smoke and pollutants due toimproper mixing, owing to the formation of aninversion layer in the atmosphere) (XXXVIII,Rajo Lakshanaadhyaayaha, 8).

39. When a gust of wind struck by another gust inthe sky reaches the earth and dashes against it,then, that impact generates a portentousthunder. (Here, the author Varaaha Mihirasymbolically states that the sound of a thunderis produced by the extremely rapid cycles ofcompression and rarefaction of air moleculesadjacent to its epicenter in the parent cloudgenerating a thunderbolt. This impact is passedon to the neighbouring air molecules as a(longitudinal) sound wave till it reaches theEarth and our ears. (XXXIX, NirdhaataLakshanaadhyaayaha, 1).

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40. When Saturn passes through the seven starscommencing from the star Krittika (i.e.Krittika, Rohini, Mrigasira, Aardra,Punarvasu, Pushyami and Aaslesha) andbecomes retrograde in its motion, then, therewill be an impending dreadful and a long-drawn famine in the region (XLVII, MayuraChitrakam, 13).In the annals of ancient Indian astrology,planets are classified as malefic and beneficbased on the effects produced by them, as givenbelow:a) Malefic Planets: Sun, Mars, Saturn,

Waning Moon (Ksheena Chandra), Raahu,Mercury in the company of other maleficplanets and Ketu situated in fixed andcommon zodiac constellations.

b) Benefic Planets: Venus, Full/WaxingMoon (Poorna Chandra), Mercury in thecompany of other benefic planers, Jupiterand Ketu in movable zodiac constellations.

The zodiac constellations are divided into 3categories as shown below:a) Movable: Mesha (Aries), Karkaataka

(Cancer), Thula (Libra) and Makara(Capricorn)

b) Fixed : Vrishabha (Taurus), Simha(Leo), Vrishchika (Scorpio) andKumbha (Aquarius)

c) Common/Mutable/Flexible: Mithuna(Gemini), Kanya (Virgo), Dhanush(Sagittarius) and Meena (Pisces)

This ‘Common’ class of zodiac constellationsare said to exhibit both types of tendencies, i.e.movable and fixed, and hence, known as ‘DwiSwabhaava Raasis’ (‘Constellations with fixedor dual behaviour’; In Sanskrit, Dwi means‘dual’, Swabhaava stands for ‘nature orbehaviour’ and raasi means a ‘constellation’)

41. There will be famine as long as the course ofJupiter and that of Saturn lie through the end ofthe zodiac signs Mesha (Aries) and Vruschika(Scorpio) and through the middle of the signs

Vrushabha (Taurus) and Simha (Leo) (XLVII,Page 402).

42. a). The Brihat Samhita puts forth a veryinteresting proposition that the cloud foetusesformed in the bright fortnight will be released(i.e. occurrence of rainfall) in the dark fortnightand those formed in the dark fortnight, rain inthe bright fortnight.b). The foetuses formed during the daytime,will yield rain at night and those formed in thenight, deliver rain during the day.c). those foetuses that are formed at the dawn,rain in the evening and the ones that are formedin the evening, produce rain at the dawn (XXI,Garbha Lakshanam, 8).

43. a). The foetuses of clouds formed in the brightfortnight of the months Maargaseersha andPousha are of little consequence. Those formedin the dark fortnight of the month Pousha,would be delivered in the bright fortnight of themonth Sraavana.b). those clouds that are formed in the brighthalf of Maagha, would yield rain in the darkhalf of Sraavana.c). for clouds formed in the dark half ofMaagha, the period of delivery is the brighthalf of Bhaadrapada.d). those formed in the bright half ofPhaalguna, would have their delivery in thedark half of Bhaadrapada.e). the clouds formed in dark half ofPhaalguna, would yield rain in the bright halfof Aaswayuja.f). Clouds formed in the bright half of Chaitrawould rain in the dark half of Aaswayuja.g). the cloud foetuses that are generated duringthe dark fortnight of the month Chaitra (darkfort night of Vaisaakha as per the convention inNorthern India) would be delivered during thebright fortnight of the month Kaarthika (XXI,9-12).

44. When a planet (Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venusor Saturn) and a star are encircled by the haloround the Moon, there will be rain within threedays from the day of the appearance of this

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particular halo (XXXIV, PariveshaLakshanaadhyaayaha, 11).

45. If Saturn is encircled by a halo around theMoon, it destroys base corn and trees, causesstormy rains and badly affects agriculturists.Mercury inside the halo bequeaths good rains.Venus enveloped by a lunar halo makes foodvery expensive, i.e. it causes famine. Ketu (thedescending or southern lunar node) inside thehalo creates hunger and mortality (XXXIV, 12-15). Professor Raama Krishna Bhat opines thatif there is a halo around the Moon and if thelongitudes of Raahu or Ketu are almost thesame same as that of the Moon, then, it can besaid that the particular planet in contentionbetween the two (Rahu (or) Ketu), is encircledin the Moon’s halo.

46. If there are three planets enclosed in a haloaround the Sun or the Moon, then, this causesfamine and drought (XXXIV, 16).All these predictions enlisted above, mayappear to be mere qualitative suppositions. But,there lie several thousands of years of keenobservation and adept analysis behind them.The fact that Varaaha Mihira admits many atime in his Brihat Samhita very humbly andobediently that he had just tried to compile andinterpret the statements of his predecessors,points towards this decisive conclusion. Hence,sincere and ace efforts have to be put in, toachieve a feasible fusion of hereditary ancientprowess and contemporary state-of-the-artsophistication to derive and arrive at anefficacious system that caters to all therequirements and challenges encountered in thearena of meteorological studies and research.

47. The cloud fetuses formed during the Moon’sconjunction with the stars Poorvaashaadha,Uttaraashaadha, Poorvabhaadrapada,Uttarabhaadrapada, Rohini, Shatabhishak,Aaslesha, Aardra, Swaati or Makha during themonths of Maargaseersha, Pousha, Maagha,Phaalguna, Chaitra and Vaisaakha, will yieldrain for 8, 6, 16, 24, 20 and 3 days respectively,after 195 days (XXI, Garbha Lakshanam,slokam 30).

48. Should there be rain in the lunar mansionsbeginning with Poorvaashaadha after the fullmoon in the month of Jyeshtha, the quantity ofrainfall during the rainy season can be judgedbased on the rainfall during this period. Thequantity of rainfall should be gauged on the dayruled by any of the rain-producing asterisms(headed by Poorvaashaadha star), when thereis rain for the first time, through the amount ofrain by which the earth is cleared of dust, ordrops of water are made to appear on the tips ofblades of grass. Hence, the star in which theinitial rainfall occurs during the season ispivotal to determine the prospect of rainfallover the entire season.In whichever stars there is rain at the beginning,there will be rain again under the days ruled bythe same asterisms (stars) during the rainyseason in a year (XXIII,Pravarshanaadhyaayaha, slokam 1, 3, 5).

Measurement of RainfallThe Rainfall in Brihat Samhita is calculated and

given in terms of an ancient term Drona, whichliterally means ‘a pot’.

According to Sage Paraasara, who is the authorthe famous treatise ‘Krishi Paraasara’ (here, krishistands for agriculture and in this work, variousvaluable meteorological predictions andcalculations have been incorporated. VaraahaMihira in his Brihat Samhita and even its masterfulcommentator Bhattotpala, extensively quote theverses from Paraasara), one Drona equals inquatity to 200 Palas, i.e. mathematically,

1 Drona = 200 PalasSince, 1/4th of a Drona = 1 Aadhaka, hence,I Drona = 4 Aadhakas and therefore, 1 Aadhaka =200/4 Palas = 50 Palas

Further, Paraasara also states that Aadhaka isthe capacity of a circular vessel whose diameter is20 Angulams and depth (height) is 8 Angulams (Ahollow cylinder with a base and open at the top).Here, in ancient times, the length of the finger(mainly thumb) of a medium-sized man was

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considered to be an Angulam, as the Sanskrit worditself means ‘a finger’.

The modern mensuration treats an Angulam asbeing approximately equal to an inch, consideringits value to be just more than 3/4th of an inch.Sometimes, an Angulam is treated equivalent to 1-3/8 inch (11/8 inch or 1.375 inch).

Paraasara also states that an Aadhaka is equal to avolume of 17600/7 cubic Angulams.So,1 Aadhaka = 17600 ÷7 = 2514.28 cubic AngulamsAgain, Paraasara states that an Aadhaka is thevolume of rain water collected in a circular vesselwith diameter 20 Angulams and height 8 AngulamsWe know that the volume of a cylinder is given bythe formula π r2 h, where,R= radius of the cylinder = 20/2 Angulams = 10Angulams and h = height of the cylinder = 8Angulams

Therefore, Volume = π r2 (Area of the circularbase) x h (height) = 3.1416 x (10)2 x 8 = 2513.28cubic Angulams, which is almost equal to 17600/7cubic Angulams, i.e. 2514.28 cubic Angulams. Thisquantity is equal to one Aadhaka.

Varaaha Mihira also categorically states that thequantity of rainfall should be determined with thehelp of a gauge whose diameter is one cubit. Healso declares that when this vessel contains 50Palas of rain water, it will measure one Aadhaka(Brihat Samhita, Ch. XXIII,Pravarshanaadhyayaha, Slokam 2).

One cubit is generally taken to be around 27inches that is equivalent to 19.6 Angulams (takingone Angulam = 1.375 inch). If we substitute thisvalue in the formula π r2 h, where the radius (r) inthis case is about 9.8 Angulams, as againstParaasara’s 10 Angulams, then, from this, wehave,

Volume = π r2 h = 3.1416 x 9.8 x 9.8 x 8 =2413.75 cubic Angulams

So, from these, we can easily perceive thestriking correlation between Varaaha Mihira’s and

Paraasara’s calculations in terms of the volume ofan Aadhaka of rain water.

But, it was found that this volume of rain water(Aadhaka) is equal in weight to 11 OZ Avoir(Tripathi, 1969).

Normally, 1 OZ Avoir = 28.35 gram (approx.)Hence, 11 OZ Avoir = 28.35 x 11 = 311.85 gramTherefore, the weight of one Aadhaka of rain water= 311.85 gram

We know that in case of water, 1 gram = 1 cubiccentimeter, i.e. the weight of one cubic centimetervolume of water is one gram or the volumeoccupied by one gram water is one cubiccentimeter.

In other words, the density of water isrepresented as 1g/cm3 or 1000 kg/m3. From allthese, it can be said that the volume occupied byone Aadhaka of rain water is 311.85 cc. Now, thearea of a standard modern rain gauge = 200 cm2.

Hence, volume of 1cm. of rain water (calibratedheight scale in the rain gauge) collected in this raingauge is given by:

Volume = Area x Height = 200 cm2 x 1 cm = 200cm3

Here, in our case, the volume of rain watercollected is 311.85 cm3, which is equal to oneAadhaka. Our current task is to derive theequivalent calibrated height in a standard raingauge of area 200 cm2.

311.85 cm3 = 200 cm2 x Amount of rain watercollected (height in cm.)From this, we get,Amount of rain water collected (or) the rain gaugereading equivalent to one Aadhaka of rainfall =311.85 ÷ 200 = 1.559 cmHence, one Aadhaka of rainfall= 1.559 or 1.6 cm,i.e. 16 mm. of rainfall. Since, we have earlier seenthat One Drona = 4 Aadhakas, it can be thusconcluded that:One Drona = 4 Aadhakas = 4 x 1.6 cm. = 6.4 cm.or 64 mm. of rainfall of the modern rain gauge.

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Such type of conversion was earlier attemptedby T.M. Srinivasan, who stated that one Drona wasnearly equal to 5.1 cm. of rainfall (Srinivasan,1976). But, this conversion factor was found to be6.4 cm, as derived above, by a meteorologist H.V.Balkundi (Balkundi, 1999). Hence, the valuesderived above, shall be entertained in interpretingand analysing the results of the present study.

The Calendar SystemPreparation of the Vedic calendar for various

ceremonies and of rituals necessitated the study ofheavenly bodies and of their movements, and thisled to the advancement of astronomical science inIndia (Prasad, 1980). Hence, it can be apparentlymentioned that all these texts like the BrihatSamhita and others, which are replete withmeritorious gen, have been prepared to identify andassign auspicious times for the performance ofvarious rituals and sacrifices (Yagnyams).

In the Brihat Samhita, the author VaraahaMihira suggests that the days are to be counted asper the civil or solar calendar. But, the days areidentified based on the lunar asterism i.e. the starwith which the moon is conjoined during that time.The months are designated depending upon the starwith which the Moon’s conjunction takes place onthe day of Poornima (Full Moon).

Traditionally, in India, there have been twosystems followed. In the ancient system, the yearstarted with the month of Maargaseersha, i.e.during the winter/autumnal season (Sisira rutu). Inanother system that has become popular afterwards,the year starts in the vernal month of Chaitra,during the spring time. Maargaseersha isconsidered extremely auspicious by Hindus and itrepresents a transition from the gloomy melancholyof autumn to the mellifluous melody of spring.Chaitra has a very congenial climate with a freshlease of mellowing greenery and floralexquisiteness that appeal to all the people, whichalso marks a transition from soothing spring tosimmering summer.

Moreover, Lord Krishna proclaims in TheBhagavad Geetha thus: “Maasanaam

Maargaseershoham Rutuunaam Kusumaakaraha”(The Bhagavad Geetha, Chapter X, VibhutiYogaha, sloka 35). This verse means “Among allthe months, I am Margaseersha and among theseasons, I am the spring (Vasanta/Kusumakara)”.The very word Maargaseersha means ‘being aheador at the obverse of the path’. In Sanskrit,Maargam means ‘path’ and Seersham stands for‘head’, ‘top portion’ or ‘beginning’. Hence,this Maargaseersha month is regarded as thebeginning of the year, leading the entire annualchronological transit and in the other system, theyear starts with the month Chaitra, standing as atestimony to the spirit of the fore stated slokam inthe Bhagavad Geetha.

The Geetha Jayanti (birthdate of The BhagavadGeetha) is observed on the Ekaadasi (11th day) ofthe Shukla Paksham (bright fortnight) of the monthof Maargaseersha as per the Hindu AlmanacPanchangam. It is believed to be the day on whichthe Holy Scripture was revealed to the world bySanjaya. (Sanjaya is a character in the MahaBhaarata. He is Dhritarashtra's (father of the 100Kauravas) advisor and also his charioteer. Sanjayaattained the gift of seeing events at a distancewhich was granted to him by the sage Vyaasa, theauthor of the Maha Bhaarata. Sanjaya narrates toDhritarshtra the action in the climactic battleof Kurukshetra, including the Bhagavad Geetha.Hence, in the Bhagavad Geetha, verses often startwith the Sanskrit words "Sanjaya uvaacha:"("Sanjaya said :"). The entire Bhagavad Geetha is arecital of Sanjaya to Dhritaraashtra of theconversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna inthe epic Maha Bhaarata)

In South India, the ‘Ama’ anta system isfollowed, i.e. the month begins with the brightfortnight (Shukla Paksham) and ends with the 15th

(last) lunar day of the dark fortnight (Krishnapaksham), i.e. Amaavaasya. In northern India, the‘Poornima’ anta system is followed (Anta inSanskrit means ‘to end’). The month begins withthe dark fortnight and ends with the 15th (last) lunarday of the bright fortnight, i.e. Poornima. Forinstance, the year in South India begins with the

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bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra, followedby the dark fortnight of Chaitra. But, as per theconvention in North India, after the bright fortnightof Chaitra, the following dark fortnight would betreated as the dark fortnight of Vaisaakha, insteadof acknowledging it to be the dark fortnight ofChaitra.

Hence, a plausible solution to resolve thisincongruity is to follow the Gregorian calendardates corresponding to the lunar conjunctions citedin the Brihat Samhita.

Places Chosen for the StudyTirupati

Tirupati is the abode of the richest shrine inthe world; that of Lord Venkateswara situated inChittoor district of Andhra Pradesh state inIndia, at an average altitude of 182.9 metresabove sea level at 13.390N latitude and 79.250Elongitude. This is a semi-arid region withprevalent continental type of climate. This templecity is an internationally renowned, spiritual,educational and a buzzing commercial centresurrounded by industrial and agriculturalenvirons.

Tirupati is an integral part of the Rayalaseemaregion of Andhra Pradesh, which basically has arocky terrain that abounds in hills and hillocks.Tirupati is surrounded by the Seshaachalam hillranges and other discrete hummocks. (Seshastands for the Great Serpent Aadi Sesha on whichLord Vishnu reposes and Achalam means ‘theimmovable’, say, a hill, etc., as ‘chalam’ inSanskrit means ‘to move’. Hence, ‘A – Chalam’conveys a negative sense, i.e. immovable, generallyascribed to a hill. These Seshaachalam hill rangesare said to be the form of Lord Aadi Sesha). Theword Tirupati means ‘The Lord of Lakshmi’, as inTamil Tiru is the equivalent of Sri in Sanskritsignifying Goddess Lakshmi and Pati means‘Husband or Lord’. Lord Venkateswara is hencebelieved to be the form of Lord Vishnu, thehusband of Goddess Lakshmi, after whom thistemple city had been named so.

Broadly, in a year, Tirupati has three distinctseasons: Summer (March-May), Monsoon (July-September), and winter (November-January).February, June and October months are consideredto be transition periods with relatively stableweather conditions with sunny days.Geographically, since Tirupati is in proximity tothe coastal regions of Nellore and Chennai, thisregion receives prominent amounts of rainfallwhenever there are cyclonic formations in the Bayof Bengal, off the coast of Chennai and coastal

Nellore. Due to this, along with the South-Westmonsoon, the North-East monsoon (October-December) also brings copious rains to this region.The average annual rainfall of the Tirupati region isaround 900 mm. The geographical location of theplaces chosen for the study has been represented inFig.1.

AjmerAjmer is a city situated in the state of Rajasthan

in India at 26.450 N latitude and 74.630 Elongitude. This place was once known by the name‘Ajayameru’, meaning ‘the invincible Meru’.(Ajaya or Ajeya in Sanskrit means ‘the

Fig.1. Map showing the location of the four regions chosenfor the study

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invincinble’. In Hindu mythology, Meru or Sumeruis a golden mountain that is believed to be situatedat the centre of the universe and is said to be theaxis of the world. It is also supposed to be theabode of Gods). Since this was founded by theRajput chieftain Ajayapal Chauhan, he gave thisnomenclature to the city after his own name. It is avery popular Islamic pilgrimage centre with thefamous Dargah (a Sufi shrine built over the graveof a revered religious personality) of QuajaMoinuddin Chisti, a Sufi Saint, which draws peoplefrom all over the world.

Temperature is very high in summers and verylow in winters. Ajmer has an extreme climate withhigh climatic variations between the seasonsbecause of its proximity to the Thar Desert.Average maximum summer temperature stands ataround 38°C and the mean minimum temperature isabout 27o C. There is not much of rain in Ajmereven during the monsoons. Ajmer receives 400-500mm. of precipitation in the rainy season. Hence,Ajmer has a typical desert type of climatethroughout the year.

ShillongShillong is the capital of Meghalaya, one of the

‘seven sister’ states (North-Eastern states)in India and is the primary homeland of the Khasitribe. The word Meghalaya itself means a ‘templeor abode of clouds’, as in Sanskrit, Megham means‘a cloud’ and Aalayam stands for ‘a temple orabode’ and moreover, it rains extensively andheavily in Meghalaya, especially in places likeCherrapunji (11, 177 mm. of average annualrainfall) and Mawsynram (11, 873 mm. of averageannual rainfall). The region receives rainfall fromboth North-East and South-West monsoons as it issituated on the wind-ward side of the Khasi hills,which results in even more precipitation due to thephenomenon of ‘orographic uplift’. The nameShillong originated from “Leishyllong”, a God whois believed to live on the Shillong peak,overlooking the city.

It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hillsdistrict and is situated at an average altitude of

4,908 feet (1,496 m) above sea level. The highestpoint is the Shillong Peak situated at 6,449 feet(1,966 m).It is said that the rolling hills around theregion reminded the European settlers of Scotland.Hence, Shillong is also known as ‘Scotland of theEast’. Since the climate of Shillong was cooler thanthat of the tropical India, it remained the capital ofundivided Assam until the creation of the new stateof Meghalaya on 21 January 1972. Then, Shillongbecame the capital of Meghalaya and Assamshifted its capital to Dispur in Guwahati district.

Shillong is located at 25.57°N latitude and91.88°E longitude. It is positioned on the ShillongPlateau, the only principal protruding structure inthe entire northern and north-eastern Indianmainland. The city lies at the centre of the plateauand is surrounded by hills, three of which arerevered in Khasi tradition: Lum Sohpetbneng, LumDiengiei and Lum Shillong. Shillong experiencesautumn during the months of September toNovember and winter reigns from November toMarch and then, the onset of summer takes placefrom April to June. Summers in Shillong arepleasant and pollution-free with the averagetemperatures varying from 12° C to 25o C. Duringwinters, the mean temperature varies from 4° C to12o C. The monsoons arrive in June and it rainsalmost until the end of August. The average annualrainfall of Shillong is placed at about 4,931 mm.

Our author Varaaha Mihira also emphaticallyaffirms time and again in Brihat Samhita thatnorth-east winds, north-east clouds and north-eastdirection, on the whole, are exceedingly conducivefor copious rainfall in India.

Shillong is located at a distance of 55 km.from Mawsynram, the world's wettest place thatholds the record for maximum rainfall. Due to itslatitude and high elevation Shillong has mildsummers and chilly winters, featuring a subtropicalhighland climate as per Koppen’s climaticclassification. The monsoons arrive in June and itrains almost until the end of August.

(In 1920, Vladimir Peter Koppen developed asimple classification system to categorise climates

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based on precipitation and temperature. ThisKoppen's classification system makes anadmirable reference for the purpose of easilyconveying different types of climates and relateddetails even to lay men).

Port BlairPort Blair is the capital of the Indian union

territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, whichare situated quite far away in the Bay of Bengal tothe East- South- East of the Indian mainlandterritory. Port Blair is the largest town and

a municipal council in the Andaman district ofthe Andaman Islands. It lies on the east coast of theSouth Andaman Island and is the main entry pointto the islands. Port Blair is situated at 11.660 N and92.740 E.

Port Blair is the headquarters for the Indiandistrict of South Andaman and is the localadministrative sub-division as well. It serves as amajor base for the Indian Navy and the IndianCoast Guard. It is also the headquarters of the TriServices Command. The place had been namedPort Blair in the year 1789, to honour LieutenantArchibald Blair of the British East India Company.

Port Blair has a tropical monsoon climate, witha little variation in average temperatures andreceives large amounts of precipitation throughoutthe year. All months except January, February andMarch receive substantial rainfall. The meanannual temperatures range from 22.50 C to 32.50 C.Likewise, the mean annual precipitation issubstantially high and is observed to be around3,035 mm.

Thus, the foremost and prime aim of this studyis to validate and correlate the invaluablemeteorological predictions enshrined in the BrihatSamhita vis-à-vis the actual real-time adroitobservations over the four regions specified above,that are situated in diverse climatological andgeographical zones of India. This has been done byusing the daily station-wise surface data over theseregions, provided by the National Data Centre(NDC), India Meteorological Department (IMD),Pune, for the period 1993-2003 (For the years after

2003, there are some sizable data gaps in IMDdata, concerning one or more of the abovementioned stations).

Results and DiscussionsHere, in this section of the article, an attempt

has been made to compare and assess the degree ofvalidation of the predictions in Brihat Samhita withthe actual recorded observations over the fourIndian stations, viz., Tirupati, Ajmer, Shillong andPort Blair. Among these, many of the tabulationsare self-explanatory and in case of the rest,appropriate discussions and analysis have beenfurnished so as to enable the readers to get hold ofa comprehensive picture of the scenario incontention.

I. There will be low rainfall when Venus issituated in Makha star and its fourcounterparts in the West (Makha, Poorva

II.Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta and Chitra),(Table 3).

I. There will be less rain when Venus is situatedin Swaati star and it’s two counterparts in theEast (Swaati, Visaakha and Anuraadha),(Table 4).

II.There will be good rainfall when Venus issituated in Makha star and its fourcounterparts in the East (Makha, PoorvaPhalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta and Chitra),(Table 5).

III. There will be copious rain when Venus issituated in Swaati star and it’s twocounterparts in the West (Swaati, Visaakhaand Anuraadha), (Table 6). From Tables 3-6, itis evident that while the predictions stoodsignificantly corroborated for significant numberof episodes. But, at the same time, there werealso instances during which there was low tovery rainfall when copious rainfall was predictedand vice versa.

IV. It was also predicted that with Venus rising orsetting on 8th, 14th or the 15th day(Amaavaasya) of the dark fortnight, theremay be good rainfall in the region.In the case of this prediction, interestingly,during many instances, there was no rainfall

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before and after the period specified in Table7. It rained promptly during this specificperiod in majority of the instances. Barring afew cases where there was no rainfall or verynegligible rainfall (below 1 mm.), the 3-dayperiod of occurrence of the above astrologicalphenomenon experienced good rainfall as per

the prediction. The absence of rain during thepreceding and the following days raises itssignificance remarkably.

Table 3. Rainfall when Venus is situated in Makha star and its four counterparts in the West

Time of Occurrence duringthe period of study

Tirupati Rainfall(mm)

Ajmer Rainfall(mm)

Shillong Rainfall(mm) Port Blair Rainfall (mm)

August 3- Sept.25, 1992 122.4 71.4 227.4 759.6June 26- September 8, 1994 337.5 391.8 423.8 1620.3August 22- Oct.11, 1995 110.8 190.4 513.1 747.7August 4 – September 12,1997 111.0 340.3 442.5 636.4

Table 4. Rainfall when Venus is situated in Swaati star and its two counterparts in the East



Ajmer Rainfall(mm)


Sept. 25- Oct.28, 1992 118.8 4.8 325.7 228.3Sept. 8 – Oct. 31, 1994 255.3 19.8 296.4 572.3Oct.11 – Nov.12, 1995 263.6 0.2 113.8 465.2Sept.11 – Oct. 18, 1997 176.6 159.7 221.5 379.1Nov.27, 1998 to Jan. 6, 1999 223.9 0.8 0.0 37.8

Table 5. Rainfall when Venus is situated in Makha star and its four counterparts in the East



Ajmer rainfall(mm)

Shillong rainfall(mm) Port Blair rainfall (mm)

Aug. 18 – Nov. 9, 1993 790.8 117.1 428.7 910.3Aug. 30 – Sept. 2, 1995 3.8 1.0 2.9 16.7Sept. 28 – Nov. 24, 1996 447.7 0.2 379.8 779Aug. 23 – Nov. 9, 1998 660.6 326.6 821.7 1047.8Sept. 27 – Dec. 1, 1999 411 36.6 430.2 550.7

Table 6. Rainfall when Venus is situated in Swaati star and its two counterparts in the West



Ajmer Rainfall(mm)

Shillong Rainfall(mm) Port- Blair Rainfall (mm)

Nov. 9 – Dec. 11, 1993 384.8 1.0 10.8 212.8Nov. 4, 1994 to Jan. 17, 1995 392.1 6.1 44.5 165.9Nov. 23 – Dec. 26, 1996 547.7 0.0 No Data 258.9Nov. 14 – Nov. 26, 1998 1.4 0.0 81.8 128.8

Table 7. Rainfall when Venus rises or sets on 8th, 14th or the 15th day of the dark fortnightTime of Occurrence during

the period of studyTirupati Rainfall

(mm)Ajmer Rainfall

(mm)Shillong Rainfall

(mm) Port- Blair Rainfall (mm)

July 25 – 27, 1995 No Data 84.8 16.5 122.0September 23-25, 1995 0.0 0.0 52.0 13.9June 14 - 16, 1996 254.0 4.4 6.3 69.4April 29 – May 1, 1997 0.0 23.2 32.2 5.6August 10 - 12, 1999 0.1 0.6 33.8 1.7November 3 - 5, 2002 23.6 0.0 No Data 8.7

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Table 8. Rainfall When Saturn is in advance of VenusTime of Occurrence during

the period of StudyTirupati Rainfall

(mm)Ajmer Rainfall


(mm) Port-Blair Rainfall (mm)

Mar. 25 – Apr. 14, 1995 2.2 0.6 9.2 5.0Nov. 23, 1995 – Feb. 2, 1996 48.0 0.0 24.3 143.5May 13 – 29, 1998 0.0 0.0 75.1 332.4Mar. 18 – 20, 1999 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0May 19, 2000 0.0 0.0 8.4 24.9June 16 – July 13, 2001 27.4 155.1 No Data 236.1

Table 9. Rainfall when Mars marches ahead of VenusTime of Occurrence during


(mm)Ajmer Rainfall


(mm) Port Blair Rainfall (mm)

April 22 – June 22, 1997 87.0 162.3 446.8 385.4June 6 – August 4, 1998 106.3 226.6 645.1 934.3

March 21 – August 21, 1999 164.1317.5 (156.1 mm ona single day on July

31, 1999)1706.2 1537

June 13 – June 21, 2000 0.6 11.7 121.7 47.3

March 18 – May 10, 2002 0.0 0.0 No Data 102.1

Table 10. Rainfall when Jupiter is ahead of VenusTime of Occurrence during


(mm)Ajmer rainfall


(mm)Port- Blair Rainfall (mm)

Oct. 12 – Dec. 24, 1997 766.1 30.7 65.6 384.8Mar. 28 – Apr. 22, 1998 0.0 6.8 199.6 0.0May 10 – 19, 2000 1.4 15.8 83.1 258.4July 15 – August 6, 2001 47.1 86.6 No Data 257.6May 10 – June 5, 2002 129.6 18.8 No Data 530.9

Table 11. Rainfall when Mercury is situated in advance of Venus

Period of Occurrence Tirupati Rainfall(mm)

Ajmer Rainfall(mm)


Apr. 18 – May 16, 1993 0.4 0.0 338.1 62.3July 15 – Aug. 30, 1993 211.8 115.3 346.2 608.2Dec. 25, 1993 to Jan. 1, 1994 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.0Oct. 22 – Dec. 15, 1994 399.9 1.1 30.1 172.8Mar. 25 – April 15, 1995 2.2 0.6 25.2 14.0June 5 – 19, 1995 45.0 0.0 537.8 545.1July 22 – 28, 1995 No Data 176.6 30.9 125.9Aug. 27 – Sept. 29, 1995 69.3 172.4 451.5 488.7Oct. 31 – Nov. 29, 1998 327.8 0.5 87.5 251.1Nov. 17, 1999 to Jan. 16, 2000 243.3 0.0 3.8 223.3June 22 – July 2, 2000 65.1 10.0 309.6 154.8April 10 – 19, 2001 59.9 0.0 No Data 0.0Oct. 14 – Dec. 5, 2001 435.2 4.8 No Data 340.6Jan. 15 – Jan. 29, 2002 1.0 0.0 No Data 0.0June 5 – July 4, 2002 88.9 499.3 No Data 316.4Nov. 5 – 15, 2002 125.1 0.0 No Data 187.9Jan. 11 – Mar. 23, 2003 32.6 42.4 No Data 0.3

254



Table 12. Rainfall When Jupiter and Venus are aligned in the Sama Saptakam mode

Time of Occurrence duringthe Period of Study


Ajmer Rainfall(mm)


Mar. 24 – May 30, 1993 117.5 10.6 510.6 277.5June 5 – June 30, 1995 140.8 57.7 630.5 718.0May 3 – June 4, 1996 12.4 13.9 159.1 229.3July 30 – Aug. 29, 1996 218.0 209.8 267.8 437.6June 23 – July 15, 1997 37.1 17.7 505.4 535.5Sept. 11 – 25, 1998 35.6 135.8 154.1 226.3Dec. 1 – 26, 1999 41.2 0.0 3.0 193.2Oct. 13 – Nov. 7, 2000 31.5 0.0 178 136.9Dec. 20 – Jan. 14, 2002 0.0 16.2 No Data 78.6Feb. 25 – March 23, 2003 32.6 0.0 No Data 0.0

Table 13. Rainfall during the time of eclipses in various months

October 24,1995 Kaarthikam

Plenty of food andhappiness, i.e. goodrainfall

280.7 (13.0 mm ofrainfall on October24)

0.2 (No rainfallon October 24)

36.3 (InsufficientData with gaps)

427.4 (No rainfallon October 24)

February26, 1998 Phaalgunam Harmful to crops i.e.

no adequate rainfall 0.010.5 (Norainfall onFebruary 26)

26.7 (0.2mm ofrainfall onFebruary 26)

0.0

June 21,2001 Vaisaakham

There would be goodcrops in the land, i.e.satisfactory rainfall

30.5 (0.6 mm. ofrainfall on June 21)

108.8 (Norainfall on June21)

No Data 358.7 (No rainfallon June 21)

December14, 2001

Maargaseersham

Leads to some goodrainfall

143.9 (No rainfallon December 14) 0.0 No Data

79.2 (6.3 mm. ofrainfall onDecember 14)

June 10,2002 Jyeshtham

Crops will be harmed;there may be somespells of rainfall,adversely affectingthe crops

100.2 (No rainfallon June 10)

472.8 (412.3mm of rainfallon the day ofeclipse itself)

No Data479.4 (6.3 mm. ofrainfall from June10th - 11th )

December4, 2002

Maargaseersham

Leads to some goodrainfall

73.6 (No rainfallon December 4) 0.0 No Data

182.7 (35.7 mm.of rainfall onDecember 4)

Table 14. Rainfall during the conjunction of Mercury and VenusDate of Actual

occurrence duringthe period of study

Tirupati Rainfallduring the period ofconjunction (mm)

Ajmer Rainfall duringthe period of

conjunction (mm)

Shillong Rainfall duringthe period of conjunction

(mm)

Port Blair Rainfallduring the period ofconjunction (mm)

April 18 – 19, 1993 38.6 8.6 85.6 0.8November 14, 1993 234.4 1.0 9.8 69.9December 27, 1993 38.9 0.0 No Data 8.0February 16, 1994 5.4 0.0 No Data 0.0

November 14, 1994 100.9 0.0 5.1 (Insufficient data withgaps) 0.0

June 19, 1995 45.0 41.6 419.7 217.1July 22, 1995 No Data 136.5 50.0 216.0September 29, 1995 2.5 1.9 72.6 37.9

255



Table 14. Rainfall during the conjunction of Mercury and Venus (Continued…)Date of Actual

occurrence duringthe period of study

Date of Actualoccurrence during the

period of study


period of study


period of study

Date of Actualoccurrence duringthe period of study

June 23, 1996 11.9 154.7 234.3 485.6January 13, 1997 120.4 0.0 7.0 0.0April 23, 1997 3.2 0.0 100.1 1.0February 17, 1998 0.0 0.0 1.5 0.0August 27, 1998 60.7 107.6 269.7 46.3September 13, 1998 13.8 77.3 117.8 155.1November 29, 1998 10.5 0.0 77.6 13.2March 17, 2000 0.0 3.8 16.1 0.0April 28, 2000 10.7 1.6 99.4 180.6July 2, 2000 48.0 22.0 82.0 213.7April 10, 2001 56.9 0.0 No Data 0.0October 30, 2001 18.8 0.0 No Data 102.1November 3, 2001 63.6 0.0 No Data 25.1January 26, 2002 1.0 0.0 No Data 0.0November 4, 2002 51.2 0.0 No Data 210.9

Table 15. Rainfall during the conjunction of Mercury and JupiterDate of Actual

OccurrenceTirupati Rainfall

(mm) Ajmer Rainfall (mm) Shillong Rainfall (mm)Port- Blair Rainfall

(mm)August 26, 1993 82.4 0.2 82.8 125.5November 28, 1994 1.0 0.0 17.8 150.5December 8, 1995 0.0 0.0 No Data 5.3February 13, 1997 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0March 25, 1998 0.0 0.1 90.0 0.0May 3, 1999 9.5 0.0 105.3 98.3May 9, 2000 8.6 35.9 30.5 183.7May 17, 2001 7.6 0.0 No Data 380.8June 19, 2001 5.3 0.0 No Data 37.3July 13, 2001 57.4 48.9 No Data 98.9July 24, 2002 42.5 26.0 No Data 103.0

Table 16. Rainfall when Jupiter is conjoined with VenusDate of Actual


(mm) Ajmer Rainfall (mm) Shillong Rainfall (mm) Port Blair Rainfall (mm)

November 8,1993

292.6 0.0 15.5 0.0

September 29,1994 18.2 0.0 73.9 24.5

February 6, 1997 0.0 0.0 4.0 0.0April 24, 1998 6.4 15.2 123.5 0.0February 25,1999 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.0

May 18, 2000 2.4 7.8 167.1 258.0August 6, 2001 19.4 86.4 No Data 199.3 (87.2 mm. on August 6)June 5, 2002 37.8 431.1 No Data 196.2

256



Table 17. Rainfall during the conjunction of Mars and SaturnDate of Actual


(mm) Ajmer Rainfall (mm) Shillong Rainfall (mm) Port- Blair Rainfall (mm)

March 22, 1996 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0April 3, 1999 0.0 0.0 1.2 10.5May 5, 2002 0.0 0.0 No Data 1.2

Table 18. Aardra Kartari time rainfall during the period of study

Aardra Kartari Period TirupatiRainfall (mm) Ajmer Rainfall (mm) Shillong Rainfall (mm) Port Blair Rainfall (mm)

June 21 – July 5, 1993 33.0 56.4 385.4 162.3June 22 – July 6, 1994 130.0 88.5 105.7 265.4June 22 – July 6, 1995 129.4 57.7 258.9 204.8June 21 – July 5, 1996 16.6 136.4 376.7 544.6June 21 – July 5, 1997 15.1 16.6 239.0 267.4June 22 – July 6, 1998 82.3 125.3 34.3 358.7June 22 – July 6, 1999 34.8 13.9 213.2 43.5June 21 – July 5, 2000 96.1 22.0 370.3 220.6June 21 – July 5, 2001 4.6 108.8 No Data 196.2June 22 – July 6, 2002 10.2 60.0 No Data 63.7

Table 19. Tirupati rainfall as perceived from the perspective of Aashaadha Poornima wind effectDate of occurrence ofAashaadha Poornima

Observed Wind Directionover Tirupati Region Predicted Effect Tirupati rainfall during the

season (mm)July 15, 1992 South-West Famine and drought in the region 346.6

July 5, 1993 West Earth is endowed with rich crops with copiousrainfall 1023.3

July 23, 1994 South-West Famine and drought 682.9July 13, 1995 No Data - 475.5July 30, 1996 No Data - 800.3July 20, 1997 West – North- West Splendid crops with good rainfall 606.6July 9, 1998 South-West Famine and drought 678.4July 28, 1999 West Earth is endowed with rich crops 433.9July 16, 2000 West Earth is endowed with rich crops 346.3July 6, 2001 West-North-West Splendid crops with good rainfall 854.4

July 25, 2002 South – South-East Sparse rainfall with intensive heat-waveconditions 537.4

Table 20. Ajmer rainfall as perceived from the perspective of Aashaadha Poornima wind effectAashaadha PoornimaDate

Observed Wind Directionover Ajmer Region Predicted Effect Ajmer rainfall during the

season (mm)July 15, 1992 South Very Sparse Rainfall No DataJuly 5, 1993 West Earth is endowed with rich crops 170.1July 23, 1994 South- West Famine and drought in the region 189.9July 13, 1995 North- East Plenteous rain with rich crop yield 640.1July 30, 1996 West Earth is endowed with rich crops 325.5July 20, 1997 South- West Famine and drought in the region 488.4July 9, 1998 South – West Famine and drought in the region 213.0July 28, 1999 South – West Famine and drought in the region 66.5July 16, 2000 South – West Famine and drought in the region 31.3July 6, 2001 South – West Famine and drought in the region 176.9July 25, 2002 South – West Famine and drought in the region 100.0

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Table 21. Shillong rainfall as perceived from the perspective of Aashaadha Poornima wind effectAashaadha Poornima

DateObserved Wind Direction

over Shillong Predicted EffectShillong rainfall during

the season (mm)July 15, 1992 Calm - 614.3July 5, 1993 South – West Famine and drought in the region 511.5

July 23, 1994 South – EastSparse rainfall with intensive heat-waveconditions 474.5

July 13, 1995 South – South - West May be sparse rainfall conditions 861.7July 30, 1996 North – East Plenteous rain with rich crop yield 658.2July 20, 1997 North – West Splendid crops with torrents of rain 703.2July 9, 1998 South – West Famine and drought in the region 998.7July 28, 1999 South – West Famine and drought in the region 837.3

July 16, 2000 South – East Sparse rainfall with intensive heat-waveconditions

840.0

July 6, 2001 Calm - No Data

Table 22. Port Blair rainfall as perceived from the perspective of Aashaadha Poornima wind effectAashaadha Poornima

DateObserved Wind Direction

over Port Blair Predicted Effect Port- Blair rainfall (mm)

July 15, 1992 South – West Famine and drought in the region 1206.7

July 5, 1993 West – South –West May be copious rains owing to the predominantinfluence of the West direction

1553.2

July 23, 1994 West Earth is endowed with rich crops 1332.9July 13, 1995 South – South - West May be sparse rainfall conditions 1388.9

July 30, 1996 West – South – WestMay be copious rains owing to the predominantinfluence of the West direction 1631.7

July 20, 1997 South – West Famine and drought in the region 1272.8July 9, 1998 South – West Famine and drought in the region 1162.3July 28, 1999 South – West Famine and drought in the region 1179.6

July 16, 2000 West – South – West May be copious rains owing to the predominantinfluence of the West direction

1199.5

July 6, 2001 West Earth is endowed with rich crops 1329.7July 25, 2002 West – North –West Splendid crops with good rainfall 997.0

Table 23. Tirupati rainfall from the perspective of Lunar Conjunction with Poorvaabhaadra after Aashaadha PoornimaDate of the Lunar Conjunction with

Poorvaabhaadra after AashaadhaPoornima

Tirupati Rainfall on the day (mm)Tirupati Rainfall during the season

(mm)

July 19, 1992 0.0 346.6July 9, 1993 10.8 1023.3July 27, 1994 2.7 682.9July 17, 1995 No Data 475.5August 3, 1996 0.0 800.3July 24, 1997 5.7 606.6July 13, 1998 3.2 678.4August 1, 1999 0.0 433.9July 20, 2000 0.0 346.3July 10, 2001 0.6 854.4July 29, 2002 13.4 537.4

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Table 24. Ajmer rainfall from the perspective of Lunar Conjunction with Poorvaabhaadra after Aashaadha PoornimaDate of the Lunar Conjunction with

Poorvaabhaadra after Aashaadha Poornima Ajmer Rainfall on the day (mm) Ajmer Rainfall during theseason (mm)

July 19, 1992 No Data No DataJuly 9, 1993 54.1 170.1July 27, 1994 3.5 189.9July 17, 1995 0.6 640.1August 3, 1996 0.0 325.5July 24, 1997 0.4 488.4July 13, 1998 0.0 213.0August 1, 1999 24.5 66.5July 20, 2000 0.0 31.3July 10, 2001 0.0 176.9July 29, 2002 0.0 100.0

Table 25. Shillong rainfall from the perspective of LunarConjunction with Poorvaabhaadra after Aashaadha Poornima

Date of the LunarConjunction withPoorvaabhaadraafter Aashaadha

Poornima

ShillongRainfall on the

day (mm)

ShillongRainfall duringthe season (mm)

July 19, 1992 8.2 614.3July 9, 1993 1.9 511.5July 27, 1994 3.4 474.5July 17, 1995 0.1 861.7August 3, 1996 No Data 658.2July 24, 1997 16.2 703.2July 13, 1998 17.9 998.7August 1, 1999 7.4 837.3July 20, 2000 0.2 840.0July 10, 2001 No Data No DataJuly 29, 2002 No Data No Data

Table 26. Port Blair rainfall from the perspective of LunarConjunction with Poorvaabhaadra after Aashaadha Poornima

Date of the LunarConjunction with

Poorvaabhaadra afterAashaadha Poornima

Port BlairRainfall on the

day (mm)

Port BlairRainfall duringthe season (mm)

July 19, 1992 3.2 1206.7July 9, 1993 2.8 1553.2July 27, 1994 0.7 1332.9July 17, 1995 7.4 1388.9August 3, 1996 5.3 1631.7July 24, 1997 5.9 1272.8July 13, 1998 1.5 1162.3August 1, 1999 25.5 1179.6July 20, 2000 0.0 1199.5July 10, 2001 0.2 1329.7July 29, 2002 0.1 997.0

Table 27. Rainfall under various cloud directions in Ajmer

AJMERCLOUD DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N1992 47.8 21.6 0 0 0 0.1 0 01993 0 0 54.9 0 96.7 0 0 01994 0.8 0 20.3 22.1 29.3 73.8 0 01995 0 0 0 34.5 89.2 56.1 0 16.11996 0 0 0 19.3 171.6 53.7 0 01997 0 0 0 183.6 38.3 0 0 01998 0 0 0 0 0 14.7 0 01999 0 0 0 0 6.2 0 0 02000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02001 0 0 0 0 0 18.3 31.9 02002 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

259



Table 28. Rainfall under various cloud directions in Tirupati

TIRUPATICLOUD DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N1992 285 16.6 64.2 81.8 94.4 72.9 9.5 95.21993 695 11.7 5.4 42 336.6 211.7 70 41.81994 337.8 44.8 54.8 74.4 437.4 50.2 27.2 60.41995 200.6 3.8 4.8 44 83.2 8.8 62.2 01996 343.9 0 0 0 12.7 298.7 104.2 111.31997 452.3 0 0 0 0 0 23.6 108.71998 262 0 0 6.9 4.4 0 0 100.71999 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02001 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02002 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Table 29. Rainfall under various cloud directions in Shillong

SHILLONGCLOUD DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N1992 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01993 0 0 0 0 0 19.9 0 01994 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.3 01995 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01996 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01997 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01998 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01999 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 02000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02001 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02002 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Table 30. Rainfall under various cloud directions in Port BlairPORTBLAIR

CLOUD DIRECTIONNE E SE S SW W NW N

1992 2.5 0 0 110.8 125.9 2.8 3.2 31993 0 58.2 0.8 0 1168.9 19.9 0 01994 5.2 55.4 27.2 51.9 497.6 947.8 67.7 01995 5.9 49.6 107.5 215.7 664.2 136.5 26.6 7.21996 41.4 256.6 134.7 72.7 1353.1 361.4 0 01997 20.3 42.7 90.9 18.2 2048.8 145.9 0 01998 7.5 76.9 41.8 136.8 1149.2 150.2 7.6 22.71999 135.6 244.6 44.2 63.5 1096.9 401.4 19.3 02000 33.3 52.2 39.5 1.6 511.9 478.9 2.2 9.82001 54.5 102.8 19.3 20.1 1199.2 320.3 22.6 32.52002 39.3 220.4 71.3 34.7 766 773.2 0 0

260



Table 31. Rainfall under various wind directions in Ajmer

AJMERWIND DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N1992 61.2 0 0 0 5.8 0.1 4 0.81993 7.2 4.7 24.6 50.4 219.3 136.2 6.7 47.81994 78.3 6 84.7 27.4 162.8 15 48.4 3.11995 2.4 0 0 73 337.5 104.5 43.5 56.11996 10.4 21.2 0 115 248.3 153.1 5.5 3.11997 94.5 0 22.8 239.3 193.8 59.7 0.3 116.41998 31.8 7.6 9.9 62.9 89.3 40.2 13.3 94.81999 8 0 0 20 219.5 15.6 2.6 41.82000 0 0 0 16.5 182.9 31 3.6 02001 0 0 0 0 177.9 37.8 0.2 31.92002 1 0 0 2.6 179.5 467.6 35.4 13.2

Table 32. Rainfall under various wind directions in Tirupati

TIRUPATIWIND DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N1992 148 0 61.4 33.2 71.8 12.5 9.4 53.31993 354.5 11.7 12.6 123.6 159.6 14.4 56 01994 146.6 7.6 15 72.3 142.3 32 50.6 96.61995 298.2 7.2 4.8 43.6 49.4 78.5 12.9 38.41996 327.1 5.7 0 0 25.8 301 58.2 1181997 269.2 80.9 14.9 40.5 62 17 25.7 42.31998 307.7 53.1 6 36 56.2 0 127.7 4.21999 134.5 22.8 34.7 45 3.5 14.7 36.6 5.12000 145.5 15.1 6.3 3.6 71.4 85.2 36.4 15.12001 199.2 137.5 11.2 0 137.5 24.2 100.3 118.92002 121.9 42.1 3.4 0.2 34.4 45.6 111.9 73.3

Table 33. Rainfall under various wind directions in ShillongSHILLONG WIND DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N1992 0 0 117.5 92 479.2 173.8 19.4 8.51993 3.1 19 53.5 236.2 718.9 356.6 162.7 32.31994 30.1 3.9 120.4 216.6 234.1 442.5 131.1 15.91995 25.5 75.4 102.8 204.4 709.3 210.6 244 70.51996 2.2 26.1 65.7 88.2 440.1 124 288.3 121997 6 46.8 118.2 236.1 365.5 283.3 157.9 4.41998 49.9 12.7 78.5 84.5 664.9 319.6 118.5 891999 10 3.2 35.6 87.4 803.5 142 95.6 1.52000 calm calm 186.8 29.9 777.3 203.5 79.3 14.9

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Table 34. Rainfall under various wind directions in Port Blair

PORT

BLAIR

WIND DIRECTION

NE E SE S SW W NW N

1992 3.3 56.8 156.6 85.7 1648.2 29 154.3 0

1993 130.6 58.1 17.6 0.7 1130.3 296.5 118.1 1.2

1994 18.5 135.2 27.5 111.4 235.3 995 580.7 0.6

1995 111.7 60.9 85.1 150.6 1462.3 155.9 12 29.2

1996 211.6 113.2 107.1 59.6 878.4 391.9 62.2 0

1997 16.4 95.6 37.4 107.6 1256.4 235.1 1.5 4.2

1998 0 94.5 23.4 152.2 1027 492.1 55.1 22.7

1999 7.5 209.2 2.5 108.5 510.5 527.4 9.7 37.5

2000 106.3 5 1.2 11.3 393 452.3 258 0

2001 7.4 100 85.2 104.7 816 533.6 46.6 0

2002 54.1 184.8 71.9 74.9 463.4 668.1 53 1.3

Table 35. Table showing initial day of rainfall after the first cloud foetus completes its complete gestation period of 195 days

195-day gestation period of the

initial cloud foetus as per the

Brihat Samhita

Initial day of

seasonal rainfall

in Tirupati (mm)

Initial day of

seasonal rainfall

in Ajmer (mm)

Initial day of seasonal rainfall

in Shillong (mm)

Initial day of

seasonal rainfall

in Port Blair

(mm)

Nov. 27, 1992 – June 9, 1993 July 2 June 15 Consistently raining from April May 11

Dec. 16, 1993 – June 28, 1994 June 30 June 24 Consistently raining from April April 28

Dec. 5, 1994 – June 18, 1995 June 15 June 22 Consistently raining from April May 8

Nov. 25, 1995 – June 6, 1996 June 10 June 12 Consistently raining from May April 20

Dec. 13, 1996 – June 26, 1997 June 4 May 1 Consistently raining from April May 16

Dec. 3, 1997 – June 16, 1998 Insufficient Data June 7 Consistently raining from April May 10

Nov. 22, 1998 – June 4, 1999 May 24 June 12 May 5Consistently

raining from April

Dec. 10, 1999 – June 22, 2000 May 25 July 1Consistently raining from April

10April 25

Nov. 28, 2000 – June 10, 2001 June 3 June 26 No Data April 30

Dec. 17, 2001 – June 29, 2002 June 4 June 10 No Data May 10

262



Table 36. Dates when rainfall exceeded 8 mm. over Tirupati and its consequential rainfall after the specified periodPeriod of Generation of Cloud

FoetusesDay when Rainfall Exceeded

8mm over Tirupati Rainfall (mm) Rainfall after the Period of CloudFoetus Formation (mm)

Nov. 27 1992 - Apr. 21, 1993Feb 21 35 4.4Mar 2 20 0Apr 15 38.6 0

Dec 16, 1993 - May 10, 1994Dec 21 8.5 0Dec 22 28.4 25.4May 4 13.6 0

Dec. 6, 1994 - Apr. 29, 1995

Dec 20 68 No DataDec 21 16.9 No DataDec 22 14.6 No DataJan 8 11.2 No Data

Jan 16 16.6 No DataJan 17 49.2 No DataJan 18 10.5 0Feb 19 38.4 0

Nov. 25, 1995 - April 17, 1996 Rainfall less than 8mm

Dec. 13, 1996 - May 6, 1997

Dec 13 110.7 0Dec 14 62.9 6.8Dec 15 45.1 0Jan 8 50.9 0Jan 9 59.4 1.4

Jan 11 8.6 0Apr 4 18.6 0Apr 5 42.5 17.2May 6 22.6 40.9

Dec. 3, 1997 - Apr. 26, 1998

Dec 5 10.8 No DataDec 6 33.9 No DataDec 7 41.9 No Data

Dec 10 10.9 No DataDec 12 11.4 No Data

Nov. 22, 1998 - May 16, 1999

Dec 1 9.8 1Dec 10 63.2 0Dec 11 24.8 0Dec 12 103.8 0Dec 13 20.5 0May 4 9.5 0

May 11 12.4 24.4May 13 23 0.5

Dec. 10, 1999 - May 4, 2000

Dec 22 24.4 12.4Dec 23 16.3 12.8Feb 21 9.8 0Feb 26 9.7 0

Nov. 28, 2000 - April 23, 2001

Nov 29 14.4 5.4Nov 30 65.9 3Dec 2 14.1 0.5Dec 4 24.5 0

Dec 30 34.8 21Dec 31 51.6 15Apr 13 21.6 14.3Apr 14 23.4 0Apr 15 9.9 1.3

Dec. 17, 2001 - May 12, 2002Dec 21 22.1 0Dec 22 49.7 0Dec 26 46.6 0

263



V. When Saturn is in advance of Venus, itcauses vitiation of wind and sparse rainfallconditions prevailOne can readily infer from Table 8 above thatthis particular prediction stands thoroughlyvalidated even more so because Shillong andPort Blair experience consistent as well ascopious rains during the lion’s share of theyear. Keeping in view this consideration, theabove predicted stands authenticated to a greatextent.

VI. Should Mars march ahead of Venus, thenthere will be prevalent famine and droughtTirupati and Ajmer comply noticeably to thepredictions, while Shillong experiencedcopious rainfall during almost all instances,except in 2000. Port Blair witnessed goodrainfall during 1998 and 1999 and moderaterainfall in 1997. The years 2000 and 2002received less rainfall, making Port Blair a‘Mixed Bag’ as far as this particular predictionis concerned (Table 9).

VII. When Jupiter is ahead of Venus, there willbe plenty of hail stone rains. The autumnalcrops will flourish as a result of somesatisfactory rainfall.In this case, Tirupati received very goodrainfall during 1997 (766.1 mm) and moderate

rain of 129.6 mm in 2002. The other 3 instancessaw low rainfall. The rainfall in Ajmer waspredominantly on the lower side throughout, exceptduring 2001 (86.6 mm). The rainfall in Shillongwas under par during this period. But, Port Blairhad normal spells of rain as per its standards withone exception during 1998, where there was noteven a drop of rainfall in the region. On the whole,there was low to normal rainfall in the four regions(Table 10).

VIII. When Mercury, while rising or setting, issituated in advance of Venus, there will beplentiful rainfall and abundant summer-cropyield.Pertaining to this prediction, over Tirupati, in

11 out of 17 instances, there was considerablerainfall during the periods specified in Table11. Likewise, 6 out of 11 instances (no dataavailable during other 6 periods) in Shillongseem to coincide with the prediction. Port Blairwas qualitatively placed beside Tirupati withalmost 12 predictions in agreement with theforecast. Ajmer was reluctant to conform to theprediction, with only 5 of 17 episodescorrelating themselves with the spirit of thisprediction.

IX. When Jupiter and Venus are aligned in theSama Saptakam mode (Venus and Jupiter aresituated in 7th house from each other on a

Table 37. Dates when rainfall exceeded 8 mm. over Ajmer and its consequential rainfall after the specified period

Period of Generation of CloudFoetuses

Day when Rainfall Exceeded 8mmover Ajmer

Rainfall(mm)

Rainfall after the Period of CloudFoetus Formation (mm)

Nov. 27 1992 - Apr. 21, 1993 Rainfall less than 8mm -- --Dec 16, 1993 - May 10, 1994 Jan 11 8.3 3.8Dec. 6, 1994 - Apr. 29, 1995 Feb 14 11.1 35.2Nov. 25, 1995 - April 17, 1996 Rainfall less than 8mm

Dec. 13, 1996 - May 6, 1997

May 1 23.2 0May 3 12.5 0May 4 14.3 0May 5 20 0

Dec. 3, 1997 - Apr. 26, 1998 Rainfall less than 8mm -- --Nov. 22, 1998 - May 16, 1999 Rainfall less than 8mm -- --Dec. 10, 1999 - May 4, 2000 Rainfall less than 8mm -- --Nov. 28, 2000 - April 23, 2001 Rainfall less than 8mm -- --Dec. 17, 2001 - May 12, 2002 Feb 11 14.4 0

264



mutual 1-7 axis), there will be very scarcerainfall.

During the mutual 1-7 alignment of Jupiter andVenus, there are only 3 out of 10 instances inTirupati that differed strikingly with theprediction, with 7 of them in significantagreement. In Ajmer, as many as 8 instancesout of 10 coincided with the forecast. Out of 8valid episodes in Shillong, only one was inhealthy association with the prediction, i.e.during 1999. In case of Port Blair, only 2002and 2003 are positively concomitant with theprediction. Therefore, it is quite obvious fromTable 12 that Titupati and Ajmer fared verywell with this prediction as against Shillongand Port Blair.

X. Now, we compare the predictionspertaining to effect of solar eclipses (Raahu’scourse) with real-time recorded data. The yearstarts from the month of Kaarthika orMaargaseersha, as explained earlier under‘The Calendar System’. Here, we consider thetotal rainfall during the month in which theeclipse has occurred, going by the predictionsmade on the same lines. Most of the recordedrainfall values during eclipses accorded withthe predicted effects during the respectivemonths of occurrence (Table 13).

XI. There will be rain during the period of theconjunction of Mercury and VenusHere, the total rainfall during the day ofconjunction and during some days prior andafter the conjunction has been considered, asthe influence of a conjunction starts a few daysbefore the real conjunction and lasts till somedays after the actual conjunction occurs.

On the whole, among the 92 instances ofMercury - Venus conjunction, there was norainfall during 21 instances. Besides, therewere 8 instances of non-availability of data andone instance of insufficient data (Table 14).Hence, it can be concluded that 62 instances

experienced rainfall and 30 of them stoodinvalid for reasons specified above. It isnoteworthy that during many instances itrained exactly during this period ofconjunction when there was no rain during thepreceding and the following days.

XII.The conjunction of Mercury and Jupiteraugurs rainfallFrom Table 15, out of the 44 instances, during11 instances, there was no rainfall at all, whilethere were 5 episodes of absence of records.Hence, 28 occurrences were accompanied byrainfall.

XIII. Rainfall occurs when Jupiter is conjoinedwith Venus.On the consummate, when Jupiter is conjoinedwith Venus, 10 cases out of 32 went withoutany rainfall. There was no data for the years2001 and 2002 over Shillong. In total, 20events witnessed rainfall under thisphenomenon during the period of study (Table16).

XIV. The conjunction of Mars and Saturn willnot prove beneficial for rainfallThis prediction was excellently effectiveduring the period of study, as is predominantlypalpable from Table 17. All the instances overall the four stations recorded very scarcerainfall, with Tirupati and Ajmer perfectlyabiding by the prediction.

XV. The Sun’s entry in Aardra star usually befallstowards the end of the third week of May andhis stay in this star for 13-14 days till the endof the first week of June, experiences copiousrainfall undoubtedly.This period is called ‘Aardra Kartari orAardra Kaarti’. Generally, this period marksthe initial active phase of South – West

265



monsoons during a year. Further, it wasobserved that even during the adjacent days,both before and after this Aardra Kartariperiod, significant quantity of rainfall wasrecorded. This may be due to the pre- and post-influences of the Sun’s entry in to Aardra starduring the specified period. Moreover, in manycases, a considerable relative surge in theamount of rainfall was also perceived whenthis period of Aardra Kartari draws nearer andalso during this two-week period of AardraKartari, compared to the values recordedduring the other days prior to and after thistime. Hence, this is a remarkable predictionthat has been consistently proved to be validfor almost all the episodes over all the fourstations in consideration (Table 18).

XVI. If, on the day of the full moon (Poornima)in Aashaadha month, when the moon isconjoined with the asterism Uttaraashaadha,there are some predictions based on thedirection of wind prevalent on this day. Theresults of the comparison over the four regionsare tabulated as follows: (Tables 19-22). It hasbeen categorically mentioned in the BrihatSamhita that based on direction of the windthat blows during the evening before sunset onAashaadha Poornima under the asterismUttaraashaadha, these predictions for theseason are to be framed. Hence, the winddirection at 1200 hr UTC (1730 IST) has beenconsidered apt for the purpose of appraisal ofthis prediction during the period of study.

The treatise recognises the period from thebright half of the month Sraavana to brighthalf of the month Kaarthika to be the rainyseason during a year. This covers both South-West and North-East monsoonal periods as itspans from about July to Novemberapproximately. Though the pregnancy ofclouds starts from the bright half ofMaargaseersha and the delivery of rainfall isexpected to begin from the bright fortnight ofthe month Jyeshtha, Varaaha Mihiracategorically states that the cloud foetuses

formed during the bright fortnights ofMargaseersha and Pousha are of littleconsequence in terms of their rainfall andhence can be ignored. That is the reason whythe bright half of the month Sraavana is takento be the introductory phase of the year’s rainyseason. From the above tables, one can easilycompare the observed wind direction and theconsequence predicted in the Brihat Samhitawith the calculated rainfall as per theinstructions instituted by Varaaha Mihira inhis titanic treatise, indicated above.

XVII. If, after the full moon in the month ofAashaadha, there is rain on the 4th lunar dayof the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksham) inthe asterism of Poorvaabhaadra, then, thatparticular rainy season would provebeneficial, otherwise, it would not emerge tobe promising.Since these time periods are given based onnakshatram scale and since such a lunarconjunction with a particular star does notcomply with our modern calendar dates andour contemporary 24-hour time scale, Moon’sstay in a lunar mansion may often prevail foreven 2 days of the Gregorian calendar.

It has been clearly demonstrated from theTables 23–26 that there is nothing much toevaluate this prediction over Shillong and PortBlair as it duly rained on the day during theentire period of study and the rainfall wasseemingly good and beneficial (Tables 25 and26). In Ajmer, during the years 1996, 1998,2000, 2001 and 2002, there was no rainfall onthis particular day and one can easily find thatthe seasonal rainfall too was relatively on thelower side compared to other years (Table 24).In Tirupati, there was no rain during this day inthe years 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2000. It can beinferred from Table 23 that except during1996, all the remaining years experiencedrelatively lower rainfall during the period ofstudy. Here also, Ajmer showed the highest

266



association with the prediction, followedclosely by Tirupati.

XVIII. The total rainfall during a year under cloudsrising in various directions and windsoriginating from different quarters of theskyline has been tabulated in order to gaugethe cogency of the predictions.

In Ajmer, predominant quantity of rainfalloccurred when the clouds have risen in theSouth – West. This was followed by South andWest (Table 27). This result is very significantbecause Ajmer is an extremely arid region withvery little rainfall during a year. As per theBrihat Samhita, the clouds rising in south aresaid to cause very sparse rainfall and those inthe South-West cause partial yet satisfactoryrainfall. So, this gels very well with the factthat Ajmer is a region confronted with seriousscarcity of rainfall.

In Tirupati, the highest quantity of rainfalloccurred when the clouds originated in theNorth – East, followed by South- West, West,North and North- West (Table 28). The cloudsin North, North-East and West are said tocause copious rains and those in the North –West result in stormy weather. The cloudsfrom South – West cause moderate rainfall.Hence, healthy correlation can be observedbetween predictions about the effect of clouddirections on rainfall and the actual quantity ofrainfall measured over Tirupati during thestudy period.

No specific direction could be ascertained tothe clouds over Shillong during the period ofstudy as the sky remains over cast for most ofthe year in the region, raining incessantly(Table 29).

The location of Port Blair in mid-sea impliesthat it gets immensely influenced by themonsoon winds, especially South – Westmonsoons and the formation low-pressureregions (depressions) in the Bay of Bengal.Table 30 reflects the same proposition as the

rainfall under the South- Western clouds ispredominantly and strikingly high whencompared to other directions. This wasfollowed by the western and eastern clouds,which resulted in considerably substantialdown-pour in the region. The rainfallpredictions based on cloud directions, turnedout to be functioning significantly well for allthe regions chosen for the present study(Tables 27 – 30). This has been illustrated inFig. 2.

XIX. The Brihat Samhita clarifies categoricallythat the wind directions and their consequentrainfall also follow the same pattern ofpredictions as in the case of cloud directionsand ensuing rainfall.From Tables 31 and 32, it is crystal clear thatTirupati and Ajmer followed the same trendspertaining to rainfall with regard to both cloudand wind directions. The directions underwhich rainfall occurred are exactly in the samesequence as observed with respect to clouddirections (Tables 27 and 28). However, nospecific direction could be assigned to cloudsover Shillong. But when it comes to winds,copious rainfall was recorded when the windswere blowing from South – West, followed byWest, South and North – West (Table 33).When it comes to Port Blair, it rainedprofusely when the clouds stemmed fromSouth – West, West and East. When it comesto winds, the most rain-bearing directions wereSouth – West, West, East, North – West,South, North – East and South – East (Table34).

Hence, the predictions pertaining to quantity ofrainfall under various cloud and winddirections stand validated quite convincinglyover the four stations during the period ofstudy. It is also highly worthy of mention thatthere is remarkable equivalence of trends inamounts of rainfall under cloud and winddirections. The rainfall under winds originating

267



from various quarters has been depicted in Fig.3.

XX. The symptoms of pregnancy of clouds are tobe detected when the Moon passes throughthe asterism Poorvaashaadha, beginningfrom the first day of the bright fortnight ofthe month of Maargaseersha. The foetusformed during the Moon’s stay in a particularconstellation starting from Poorvaashaadha,will be released after 195 Solar days when theMoon again passes through the sameasterism as per the laws of his revolution.

The rainy season in India generally beginsfrom the last week of May or from the firstweek of June. April and May (especially andpredominantly May) often experience torrentsof convective rainfall with thunderstorms onsummer afternoons. Table 35 shows the initialday of rainfall when the first cloud foetuscompletes its gestation period of 195 days, asenvisaged by the Brihat Samhita. From thetable, it is apparent that Tirupati and Ajmerwere well within proximity of the predicteddates of rainfall, while Shillong and Port Blairdiffered entirely.

XXI. If there be excessive rain at the time offormation of foetuses without any apparentcause, this would lead to the destruction offoetuses. Should the amount of rainfallexceed 1/8th of a Drona (0.8 cm. or 8 mm. ofrainfall of the modern rain gauge), therewould be miscarriage of the foetus.

The following are the times of cloud foetusformation/generation during the period of studybased on the information provided in the BrihatSamhita:

a) 1992 – 1993 : November 27 – April 21b) 1993-1994: December 16 – May 10c) 1994 – 1995: December 6 – April 29d) 1995 – 1996: November 25 – April 17

e) 1996- 1997: December 13 – May 6f) 1997 – 1998: December 3 – April 26g) 1998 – 1999: November 22 – May 16h) 1999 – 2000: December 10 – May 4i) 2000 – 2001: November 28 – April 23j) 2001 – 2002: December 17 – May 12

In Tirupati, there were 52 cases to be consideredfor verifying this aspect. Of these, there was nodata during 11 instances. Out of the remaining41 occurrences when rainfall exceeded 8 mm.during the indicated period, 23 resulted in norainfall (0.0 mm) after the specified periodrepresented in table 36, thus, showing a soundpositive association with the prediction (Table36).

In Ajmer, there were 13 instances to be takeninto consideration during the period of study, outof which, 6 episodes experienced rainfall lessthan 8 mm. and thus could be eliminated. 5 outof the remaining 7 such occasions resulted inzero rainfall, endorsing the predictionemphatically (Table 37).

Of the 78 cases in Shillong, 8 occurrences couldbe discarded on grounds of non-availability ofdata and its inadequacy. Among the enduring 70instances, 40 completely complied with theprediction, bearing no rainfall during the time ofdelivering rain (Table 38). Finally in Port Blair,this prediction proved efficacious with regard to32 out of the total 76 occasions, where there wasno rainfall during the rainy season (Table 39).

Other than the instances during which therainfall was zero or almost zero, there wereconsiderable number of other episodes where therainfall was very low and insignificant, asperceived from Tables 36-39. Hence, thisprediction pertaining to the miscarriage offoetusus when the rainfall exceeds 8 mm. duringthe period of cloud foetus generation can betagged as a substantially potential one.

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Table 38. Dates when rainfall exceeded 8 mm. over Shillong and its consequential rainfall after the specified periodPeriod of Generation of Cloud

FoetusesDay when Rainfall Exceeded

8mm over ShillongRainfall (mm) Rainfall after the Period of Cloud

Foetus Formation (mm)

Nov. 27 1992 - Apr. 21, 1993

Jan 9 28.8 14.7Jan 10 12 No DataFeb 18 9.8 1Mar 2 9.2 3

Mar 27 23.1 3Apr 10 16.1 No DataApr 15 37.2 No DataApr 21 19 0

Dec 16, 1993 - May 10, 1994

Jan 16 9.8 3.2Jan 17 9.8 2.1Feb 3 14.6 0.1

Mar 26 13.5 29.5Mar 27 25.6 1.8Mar 28 52.4 6.7Mar 30 9.1 15.3Apr 5 13.1 No DataMay 2 13.2 3.8

Dec. 6, 1994 - Apr. 29, 1995

Jan 18 9 16Feb 16 13 1.6Apr 16 16 No DataApr 18 12 No DataApr 27 12.2 No Data

Nov. 25, 1995 - April 17, 1996

Jan 2 10.5 7.2Jan 17 11.8 71.1Mar 7 12.7 3.1Mar 8 21.3 10.8

Dec. 13, 1996 - May 6, 1997

Mar 26 34.5 0Mar 30 14.8 2Apr 1 35 0Apr 2 23.9 0Apr 3 13.5 2.9Apr 7 8.8 0.4

Apr 11 23.2 0Apr 17 19.6 0Apr 21 19.8 0Apr 22 15.6 0Apr 23 45.6 0Apr 24 10.6 0Apr 30 31.8 1.4May 2 30 0

Dec. 3, 1997 - Apr. 26, 1998

Mar 7 16 57Mar 24 20.8 0Mar 25 34.8 0Mar 30 11.6 0.4Mar 31 16.2 4.2Apr 6 42 7.4Apr 7 31 6.7

Apr 18 25.7 0Apr 20 10.6 1.1Apr 21 18.2 0.4Apr 22 11.6 0.5Apr 23 10 0Apr 26 29.5 0

Nov. 22, 1998 - May 16, 1999

Nov 23 29.4 47.3Nov 24 45.2 24.3Apr 7 8.2 55.2Apr 8 8.2 35.1May 5 32.3 0.3May 6 47.3 0.3May 7 24.3 0May 9 27.3 0.2

May 11 30.5 0May 13 8.6 0May 14 36.6 0May 15 30.2 0

Dec. 10, 1999 - May 4, 2000

Mar 14 8.8 0.2Mar 30 17 0Apr 12 12 0Apr 15 17.6 0Apr 17 33.4 105

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Table 39. Dates when rainfall exceeded 8 mm. over Port Blair and its consequential rainfall after the specified periodPeriod of Generation of

Cloud FoetusesDay when Rainfall Exceeded 8mm

over Port Blair Rainfall (mm) Rainfall after the Period of Cloud FoetusFormation (mm)

Nov. 27 1992 - Apr. 21, 1993 Mar 11 30 6.2

Dec 16, 1993 - May 10, 1994

Mar 22 27.2 1Apr 28 13.1 0Apr 29 27.2 0Apr 30 111.4 0May 1 50.3 0May 3 25.1 0May 8 51.9 0May 9 16.5 0

Dec. 6, 1994 - Apr. 29, 1995 Mar 30 10 77.2

Nov. 25, 1995 - April 17, 1996 Nov 26 10.3 0Jan 12 93.3 0.8

Dec. 13, 1996 - May 6, 1997 Apr 8 8.1 0.3May 4 18.2 31.8

Dec. 3, 1997 - Apr. 26, 1998

Dec 3 19.3 1.6Dec 4 9.8 26.5

Dec 10 9.5 2.9Jan 25 20 32.1

Nov. 22, 1998 - May 16, 1999

Dec 5 11.1 0.4Dec 25 16 18.5Jan 13 19 0Jan 15 8.3 2.7Jan 17 53.5 42.6Jan 31 11.2 0.8Feb 2 21.6 25.7Feb 5 8.6 21.2Feb 6 9.9 5.9

Mar 28 22.8 0Apr 2 8.6 0.5

Apr 12 8.1 0Apr 14 12.2 45.8Apr 18 24.4 10.3Apr 22 41.5 15.2Apr 23 10.2 0.1Apr 24 18.5 14.6Apr 25 27.4 7.9Apr 26 40.4 9.9Apr 27 8.5 7.6Apr 29 72.9 0May 3 9.1 0May 13 12.1 2.8May 14 34.2 3.7May 15 11.3 10.4May 16 36.3 0

Dec. 10, 1999 - May 4, 2000

Dec 20 10 7.6Jan 27 10.8 100.9Jan 28 20.7 20.3Feb 19 37.5 19.6Feb 20 14.4 4Feb 21 27.1 15.7Mar 26 18 3.3Mar 27 96.1 34.9Mar 28 56.9 5.6Mar 29 28.3 49.9

Apr 18 10.9 0Apr 21 29.5 0Apr 23 10 0Apr 24 9.8 0Apr 29 10.8 0May 2 22 0May 3 21.1 0

Nov. 28, 2000 - April 23, 2001 Insufficient Data -- --

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Table 40. Tirupati seasonal Rainfall from the perspective of Vaayu Dhaarana Days

Year Period of timeduring the year

Wind Velocity overTirupati (kmph) Wind Direction over Tirupati Total Seasonal Rainfall in

Tirupati (mm)1992 June 9 – 12 10, 10-18, 16, 10-14 NNE, NE, NE, SSW 346.6

1993 May 29 – June 1 16 – 22, 10 – 12, 12 –14, 12 – 18 WNW, WNW, WNW, NW 1023.3

1994 June 17 – 20 18, 16 – 22, 22, 16 – 22 SW, W, SW, W 682.91995 June 6 – 9 14, 14, 14, 12 – 14 WNW, W,W, WNW 475.51996 May 25 – 28 8 – 12, 8 – 10, 10, 12 E, SE, W, WSW 800.3

1997 June 13 – 16 6 – 10, 12 – 26, 18 – 30,8 – 14 NNW, S, S, SW 606.6

1998 June 2 – 5 No Data No Data 678.4

1999 June 21 – 24 18 – 30, 14 – 26, 18 –30, 22-24 W, W, W, WNW 433.9

2000 June 10 – 13 18, 18, 18 – 24, 12 – 18 WSW, WNW, NNW, NNW 346.3

2001 May 31 – June 3 12 – 28, 6 – 12, 10 – 14,6 – 10 WNW, WNW, NNE, SE 854.4

2002 June 18 – 21 10, Calm, Calm, 2 – 14 SE, Calm, Calm, WNW 537.4

Table 41. Ajmer seasonal Rainfall from the perspective of Vaayu Dhaarana Days

Year Period of time duringthe year Wind Velocity over Ajmer (kmph) Wind Direction over Ajmer Total Seasonal Rainfall

in Ajmer (mm)1992 June 9 – 12 No Data No Data No Data1993 May 29 – June 1 2 -12, 10, 4 – 6, 2 W, SW, S, NE 170.11994 June 17 – 20 6 – 10, 8 – 12, 8 – 16, 10 - 12 SW, W, W, W 189.91995 June 6 – 9 6 – 12, 8 – 14, 8 – 14, 8 - 18 SW, W, W, W 640.11996 May 25 – 28 Calm, 4, 4 – 6, 8 – 10 Calm, N, SW, SW 325.51997 June 13 – 16 2 – 4, Calm, 2, 4 – 14 N, Calm, W, W 488.41998 June 2 – 5 6 – 8, 6 – 8, 2 – 8, 8 - 12 W, W, W, W 213.01999 June 21 – 24 4, 4 – 12, 6 – 8, 4 – 6 NW, SW, W, W 66.52000 June 10 – 13 4 – 8, 4 – 6, 4, 4 – 8 SW, W, SW, W 31.32001 May 31 – June 3 4 – 8, 4 – 8, 4, 6 – 8 SW, SW, SW, W 176.92002 June 18 – 21 4 – 10, 6 – 8, 2 – 4, 4 W, W, SW, SW 100.0

Apr 14 23 11.4Apr 27 61.2 0Apr 28 59.9 0Apr 29 16 0Apr 30 25.4 0May 3 11.3 0

Nov. 28, 2000 - April 23, 2001

Nov 28 21.9 37.1Dec 12 11.8 7.6Dec 13 24 9.6Dec 22 32.5 40.9Jan 7 14.3 0.3Jan 9 42.9 0.8

Jan 10 48.4 0Jan 17 11.6 0.3Mar 12 9.8 0.7Mar 23 57.4 1.7Mar 24 33.1 1.8Mar 26 10.5 0

Dec. 17, 2001 - May 12, 2002

Apr 28 61.5 93.3Apr 30 15.7 37.2May 10 16.5 0May 12 8.8 11.6

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Table 43. Port Blair seasonal Rainfall from the perspective of Vaayu Dhaarana Days

Year Period of timeduring the year

Wind Velocity over Port Blair(kmph) Wind Direction over Port Blair Total Seasonal Rainfall in

Port Blair (mm)1992 June 9 – 12 4 – 8, 4, 4 – 6, 2 – 6 SW, SW, SW, W 1206.71993 May 29 – June 1 22, 30 – 34, 16 – 18, 10 – 16 SW, SW, SW, WSW 1553.21994 June 17 – 20 26 – 28, 20 – 28, 22 – 30, 20 – 28 W, W, W, W 1332.91995 June 6 – 9 8 – 10, 12 – 20, 22 – 30, 20 – 22 SW, WSW, SW, WNW 1388.91996 May 25 – 28 12 – 14, 10 – 14, 12 – 20, 10 – 20 WSW, SW, WSW, WSW 1631.71997 June 13 – 16 4 – 6, 2, 6, 10 S, ENE, NW, WNW 1272.81998 June 2 – 5 4, 4 – 6, 12, 6 SW, SW, W, SSE 1162.31999 June 21 – 24 20 – 22, 14 – 30, 14 – 20, 12 – 18 SW, SW, WSW, WSW 1179.62000 June 10 – 13 14, 12 – 14, 24 – 30, 16 – 24 SW, WSW, WSW, SW 1199.52001 May 31 – June 3 6 – 20, 6 – 10, 6 – 10, 6 – 8 SSW, SW, S, SSW 1329.72002 June 18 – 21 12, 14 – 16, 12 – 20, 18 – 22 WSW, WSW, SW, SW 997.0

Table 42. Shillong seasonal Rainfall from the perspective of Vaayu Dhaarana DaysYear Period of time during

the yearWind Velocity over Shillong

(kmph)Wind Direction over Shillong Total Seasonal Rainfall in

Shillong (mm)1992 June 9 – 12 Calm, 4, 4, 4 – 12 Calm, NE, SW, SW 614.31993 May 29 – June 1 2 – 6, 10, 4, 4 E, SE, N, N 511.51994 June 17 – 20 6, 2 – 4, 2, 2 SW, E, NE, W 474.51995 June 6 – 9 Calm, 2, 2, 2 – 4 Calm, WNW, NW, N 861.71996 May 25 – 28 6, 4, 4 – 10, 8 – 16 NW, NW, WSW, WSW 658.21997 June 13 – 16 6, 4 – 6, 2, 4 – 10 SW, SW, W, SSW 703.21998 June 2 – 5 2 – 8, 4 – 6, 8, 8 – 12 SW, SW, SW, SW 998.71999 June 21 – 24 2 – 4, 2, Calm, 2 – 4 NE, SW, Calm, SW 837.32000 June 10 – 13 2 – 4, Calm, Calm, 4 SW, Calm, Calm, WSW 840.02001 May 31 – June 3 1, Calm, Calm, Calm NW, Calm, Calm, Calm No Data

Table 44. Validity of the prediction pertaining to retention of rain over Tirupati during the period of study

Year Period duringthe year

Rainfall inTirupati withnakshatram

Whether anyrainfall inSraavanam

Whether anyrainfall in

Bhaadrapadam

Whether any rainfallin Aaswayujam


Kaarthikam1992 June 13 – 16 No Rain No No No No

1993 June 2 – 5On June 4th

underAnuraadha

No No

No rainfall during 22days of the month; Less

rain during theremaining 8 days

No

1994 June 21 – 24 No Rain No No No No1995 June 10 – 13 No Rain Insufficient Data No No No1996 May 29 – June 1 No Rain No No No No

1997 June 17 – 20On June 19th

underAnuraadha

No No No rainfall during 22days of the month No

1998 June 6 – 9 No Data - - - -1999 June 25 – 28 No Rain No No No No2000 June 14 – 17 No Rain No No No No

2001 June 4 – 7 On June 5th

under Visaakha No

No Rainfall for25 days; other

days experiencednominal rainfall

2002 June 22 – 25

On June 23rd

under Visaakhaand on June 25th

under Jyeshtha

No No Rainfall for22 days No

Rainfall for 17days during the

month

272



Table 45. Validity of the prediction pertaining to retention of rain over Ajmer during the period of study


Rainfall inAjmer withnakshatram

Whether anyrainfall inSraavanam


Bhaadrapadam


Aaswayujam

Whether any rainfallin Kaarthikam

1992 June 13 – 16 No Data No No No No1993 June 2 – 5 No Rain No No No No1994 June 21 – 24 On June 24th

under JyeshthaNo No No No significant rainfall

during the month1995 June 10 – 13 No Rain No No No No1996 May 29 – June

1No Rain No No No No

1997 June 17 – 20 No Rain No No No No1998 June 6 – 9 On June 7th

under Visaakha,on June 8th

underAnuraadha and

on June 9th

under Jyeshtha

No Only 5 days ofrainfall during the

month

Only 8 days ofrainfall during

the month

Only 2 days of rainfallduring the month

1999 June 25 – 28 No Rain No No No No2000 June 14 – 17 No Rain No No No No2001 June 4 – 7 No Rain No No No No2002 June 22 – 25 No Rain No No No No

Table 46. Validity of the prediction pertaining to retention of rain over Shillong during the period of study


Rainfall inShillong withnakshatram

Whetherany

rainfall inSraavanam


Bhaadrapadam

Whetherany rainfall

inAaswayujam

Whether any rainfall inKaarthikam

1992 June 13 – 16 Rainfall on allfour days Yes Yes Yes

Yes. But, no rainfall for19 days at a stretch from

Oct.24 to Nov.11

1993 June 2 – 5 Rainfall on allfour days Yes Yes Yes Insufficient Data

1994 June 21 – 24 Insufficient Data - - - -

1995 June 10 – 13 Rainfall on allfour days Yes Yes Yes Yes

1996 May 29 – June 1 Rainfall on allfour days Yes Yes Yes Insufficient Data

1997 June 17 – 20 Rainfall on allfour days Yes Yes Yes Only 7 days of sparse

rainfall during the month

1998 June 6 – 9

Rainfall on June6th , 7th and 9th

under Swaati,Visaakha and

Jyeshtha

Yes Yes Yes Yes

1999 June 25 – 28 Rainfall on allfour days Yes Yes Yes 5 – 6 days of rainfall

2000 June 14 – 17

Rainfall on June14th , 15th and

16th underSwaati, Visaakhaand Anuraadha

Yes Yes Yes 5 days of significantrainfall during the month

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Table 47. Validity of the prediction pertaining to retention of rain over Port Blair during the period of study

YearPeriod during

the year

Rainfall in Port Blair with

nakshatram

Whether any

rainfall in

Sraavanam

Whether any

rainfall in

Bhaadrapadam

Whether any

rainfall in

Aaswayujam

Whether any

rainfall in

Kaarthikam

1992 June 13 – 16 Rainfall on all four days Yes Yes Yes Yes

1993 June 2 – 5

Rainfall on June 2nd , 4th

under Swaati and Anuraadha

respectively

Yes Yes Yes Yes

1994 June 21 – 24

Rainfall on June 23rd , 24th

under Anuraadha and

Jyeshtha respectively

Yes Yes Yes

Only two days of

sparse rainfall

during the month

1995 June 10 – 13

Rainfall on 10th , 11th and

13th under Swaati, Visaakha

and Jyeshtha

Yes Yes Yes Yes

1996 May 29 – June 1

Rainfall on May 30th and

June 1st under Visaakha and

Jyeshtha

Yes Yes Yes Yes

1997 June 17 – 20Rainfall on 19th under

AnuraadhaYes Yes Yes Yes

1998 June 6 – 9

No significant rainfall; 1.2

mm of rain on 7th under

Visaakha; other days, it was

far less than 1mm.

Yes Yes Yes Yes

1999 June 25 – 28 No Rain Yes Yes Yes Yes

2000 June 14 – 17

Rainfall on 14th , 15th , 16th

under Swaati, Visaakha and

Anuraadha

Yes Yes Yes Yes

2001 June 4 – 7

Rainfall on 5th , 6th , 7th under

Visaakha, Anuraadha and

Jyeshtha

Yes Yes Yes Yes

2002 June 22 – 25Rainfall on 23rd , 24th under

Visaakha and AnuraadhaYes Yes Yes Yes

274



Table 48. Nakshatrams of initial phase of rainfall and evaluation of predicted precipitation with actual measured rainfall over Tirupati

Year

Dates of Rainfall during

the first 27 days of the

initial month of rainfall

over Tirupati (>= 1mm.)

Nakshatrams under which

rainfall occurred respectively

Predicted

Rainfall (Drona)

Predicted Rainfall

(mm)

Actual Rainfall

(mm)

1992 Jun 21, Jul 3,7,13Dhanishtha, Pushya, Uttara

Phalguni, Jyeshtha16 1024 346.6

1993 Jun 8,14,15, Jul 2,3Uttaraashaadha, Revati, Aswini,

Jyeshtha, Moola20 1280 1023.3

1994Jun 26,30, Jul

3,5,6,7,9,10,11,14,17

Poorvaashaadha, Shatabhishak,

Revati, Krittika, Rohini, Mrigasira,

Punarvasu, Pushya, Aaslesha,

Uttara Phalguni, Swaati

16 1024 682.9

1995

Jun

15,16,20,24,25,26,27,28,29,

Jul-No data

Poorvaashaadha, Uttaraashaadha,

Poorvaabhaadra, Bharani,

Krittika, Rohini, Mrigasira,

Aardra, Punarvasu

16 1024 475.5

1996 Jun 12,13,14,15,16,23,26

Bharani, Krittika, Rohini,

Mrigasira, Aardra, Hasta,

Visaakha

14 896 800.3

1997 Jun 27, Jul 1,5,10,11,18

Poorvaabhaadra, Bharani, Aardra,

Poorva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni,

Moola

15 960 606.6

1998 Jun-No data, Jul 1,2,6 Hasta, Chitra, Jyeshtha 16 1024 678.4

1999 Jul 2,6,8,10,13,14,18,20,23

Sravana, Uttaraabhaadra, Aswini,

Krittika, Aardra, Punarvasu,

Poorva Phalguni, Hasta, Visaakha

14 896 433.9

2000Jun 22,23,28,29, Jul

3,4,5,6,7,9

Dhanishtha, Shatabhishak,

Bharani, Krittika, Punarvasu,

Pushya, Aaslesha, Makha, Poorva

Phalguni, Hasta

16 1024 346.3

2001 Jun 9,11,12,13,16, Jul 2,3,4

Poorvaashaadha, Sravana,

Dhanishtha, Shatabhishak, Revati,

Visaakha, Anuraadha, Jyeshtha

16 1024 854.4

2002 Jul 12,22,23 Pushya, Jyeshtha, Moola 15 960 537.4

275



Table 49. Nakshatrams of initial phase of rainfall and evaluation of predicted precipitation with actual measured rainfall over Ajmer

Year

Dates of Rainfall during thefirst 27 days of the initial

month of rainfall overAjmer (>= 1mm.)

Nakshatrams underwhich rainfall occurred

Predicted Rainfall(Drona)

PredictedRainfall (mm)

Actual Rainfall(mm)

1992 No Data for 1992 No Data No Data No Data No Data

1993 Jun 15,20,26,27,28 Aswini, Aardra, UttaraPhalguni, Hasta, Chitra 12 768 170.1

1994 Jul1,2,3,4,9,14,16,18,20,22,25,26

Poorvaabhaadra,Uttaraabhaadra, Revati,Aswini, Aardra, PoorvaPhalguni, Hasta, Swaati,

Anuraadha, Moola,Sravana, Dhanishtha

15 960 189.9

1995 Jun 22,30, Jul 11 Revati, Pushya, Moola 16 1024 640.1

1996 Jun 16,17,18,19,20,22,23

Aardra, Punarvasu,Pushya, Aaslesha,

Makha, Uttara Phalguni,Hasta

18 1152 325.5

1997 Jun 29,30, Jul 8,12 Revati, Aswini, Aaslesha,Hasta 16 1024 488.4

1998 Jun 11,17, Jul 1,2,3,4,5,6

Poorvaashaadha,Uttaraabhaadra, Hasta,

Chitra, Swaati,Visaakha, Anuraadha,

Jyeshtha

16 1024 213.0

1999 Jul 8,9,16,17,18,20,21,22,23

Aswini, Bharani,Aaslesha, Makha,

Poorva Phalguni, Hasta,Chitra, Swaati, Visaakha

12 768 66.5

2000 Jul 1,3,4,12,13,14,15

Mrigasira, Punarvasu,Pushya, Visaakha,

Anuraadha, Jyeshtha,Moola

16 1024 31.3

2001 Jun 26,27,29, Jul 2,3,4,5

Makha, PoorvaPhalguni, Hasta,

Visaakha, Anuraadha,Jyeshtha, Moola

14 896 176.9

2002 Jun 27,29,30, Jul 18,20Poorvaashaadha,

Sravana, Dhanishtha,Chitra, Visaakha

16 1024 100.0

276



Table 50. Nakshatrams of initial phase of rainfall and evaluation of predicted precipitation with actual measured rainfall overShillong

Year

Dates of Rainfall during thefirst 27 days of the initial

month of rainfall overShillong (>= 1mm.)

Nakshatrams under which rainfalloccurred

PredictedRainfall(Drona)

PredictedRainfall

(mm)

ActualRainfall

(mm)

1992Jun18,19,24,25,26,27,28,29,

Jul1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13

Excluding Sravana, Dhanishtha,Shatabhishak, Poorvaabhaadra,

Mrigasira, Moola16 1024 614.3

1993

Jun7,8,9,10,11,12,13,17,18,19,20,21,22,24,25,26,27,30, Jul

1,2,3

Excluding Revati, Aswini, Bharani,Aaslesha, Chitra, Swaati 16 1024 511.5

1994 Jun 26,27,28,29, Jul1,2,3,5,6,8,9,12,18,21,22

Poorvaashaadha, Uttaraashaadha,Sravana, Dhanishtha, Purvaabhaadra,

Uttaraabhaadra, Revati, Bharani,Krittika, Mrigasira Aardra, Aaslesha,

Swaati, Jyeshtha, Moola

16 1024 474.5

1995

Jun15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,2

4,25,30, Jul2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11

Excluding Rohini, Mrigasira, Aardra,Punarvasu, Aaslesha, Anuraadha 16 1024 861.7

1996Jun

3,4,5,7,9,11,12,13,14,16,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29

Excluding Dhanishtha, Poorvaabhaadra,Revati, Mrigasira, Punarvasu, Pushya 16 1024 658.2

1997Jun 23,25,27,28,29,30, Jul

1,3,4,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17

Excluding Poorvaashaadha, Sravana,Shatabhishak, Krittika, Aardra,

Punarvasu, Pushya, Moola20 1280 703.2

1998Jun

14,15,18,19,20,22,23,27,28,Jul 2,3,5,6,7

Dhanishtha, Shatabhishak, Revati,Aswini, Bharani, Rohini, Mrigasira,

Aaslesha, Makha, Chitra, Swaati,Anuraadha, Jyeshtha, Moola

16 1024 998.7

1999Jun 30, Jul

1,2,4,5,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,20,21,24

Excluding Dhanishtha, Uttaraabhaadra,Revati, Aswini, Makha, Swaati,

Visaakha, Jyeshtha, Moola16 1024 837.3

2000 Jun 19,21,22,23,24,26,28,29,Jul 1,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,13,14

Excluding Uttaraashaadha,Uttaraabhaadra, Aswini, Rohini, Aardra,

Makha, Swaati, Visaakha, Moola16 1024 840.0

2001 No Data - - - No Data

2002 No Data - - - No Data

277



Table 51. Nakshatrams of initial phase of rainfall and evaluation of predicted precipitation with actual measured rainfall over Port Blair

YearDates of Rainfall during the first 27 days

the initial month of rainfall over Port Blair(>= 1mm.)

Nakshatrams under which rainfalloccurred

PredictedRainfall(Drona)

Predicted

Rainfall(mm)

ActualRainfall

(mm)

1992Jun 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,27,28,29,30,

Jul 2,3,5,10,11,12,14

Excluding Revati, Aswini, Aardra,Aaslesha, Poorva Phalguni, UttaraPhalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Jyeshtha

16 1024 1206.7

1993 Jun 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,25,26,30, Jul1,2,3

Poorvaashaadha, Uttaraashaadha,Sravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhishak,Poorvaabhaadra, Uttaraabhaadra,

Revati, Aswini, Bharani, PoorvaPhalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Visaakha,

Anuradha, Jyeshtha, Moola

16 1024 1553.2

1994

Jun 29,30,

Jul1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,

21,22

Excluding Poorvaashaadha,Uttaraashaadha, Sravana, Aaslesha 16 1024 1332.9

1995Jun 15,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,

Jul 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11Excluding Uttaraashaadha, Sravana,

Pushya 16 1024 1388.9

1996Jun 6,7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,18,

19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29

Excluding Poorvaashaadha,Uttaraashaadha, Sravana,

Poorvaabhaadra, Punarvasu16 1024 1631.7

1997Jun 23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,

Jul 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18Excluding Poorvaashaadha and

Pushya 20 1280 1272.8

1998Jun

11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30, Jul 1,2,4,6,7

Excluding Anuraadha and Swaati 16 1024 1162.3

1999Jul

2,3,4,5,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,19,20,21,22,23,25,26

Excluding Poorvaashaadha,Uttaraashaadha, Uttaraabhaadra,Revati, Aaslesha, Poorva Phalguni,

Anuraadha

14 896 1179.6

2000Jun 19,20,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,

Jul 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14Excluding Sravana and Moola 16 1024 1199.5

2001Jun 9,10,11,12,13,15,17,20,22,23,24,25,26,

Jul 1,2,3,4,5

Excluding Poorvaabhaadra, Revati,Bharani, Krittika, Mrigasira, PoorvaPhalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta,

Chitra

16 1024 1329.7

2002Jun 27,29,30,

Jul 2,3,4,5,6,8,9,14,15,16,17,18,22,23

Excluding Uttaraashaadha,Shatabhishak, Krittika, Aardra,Punarvasu, Pushya, Aaslesha,Swaati, Visaakha, Anuraadha

16 1024 997.0

278



Table 52. Cloud directions over Tirupati during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Observed Cloud Directions During Cloud FoetusFormation Period over Tirupati Tirupati Cloud Directions During Rainy Season

1992–1993 SW, N, SE,S, NE, E SW,NW,W,S,NE,N,E1993-1994 SW,N, SE,S, NE, NW, E N,E,S,W,NE,NW,SW1994–1995 SW,N, SE,S, NE, E N,E,S,W,NE,NW,SW1995–1996 No specific Direction can be ascertained NW,W,SW,N,NE,S,E1996-1997 NE,N,NW,SW NE,N, E,NW,SW1997–1998 SW,N, NE,E S, NE1998–1999 NE No specific direction could be ascertained1999–2000 No specific direction could be ascertained No specific direction could be ascertained2000-2001 No specific direction could be ascertained No specific direction could be ascertained2001–2002 No specific direction could be ascertained N

Table 53. Cloud directions over Ajmer during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Observed Cloud Directions During Cloud FoetusFormation Period over Ajmer Ajmer Cloud Directions During Rainy Season

1992–1993 NW, W, SW S,W,NE,SE,SW,NW1993-1994 S N,E,S,W,NE,SE,SW,NW1994–1995 No specific direction could be ascertained SW,W,N,NE,S,E1995–1996 No specific direction could be ascertained N,E,S,W,SE,SW1996-1997 W N,E,S,W,NE,SW,NW1997–1998 NW W,SW,E,NW1998–1999 No specific direction could be ascertained W,SW1999–2000 No specific direction could be ascertained SW,W2000-2001 No specific direction could be ascertained W,NW,SW2001–2002 No specific direction could be ascertained SE

Table 54. Cloud directions over Shillong during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Observed Cloud Directions During Cloud FoetusFormation Period over Shillong Shillong Cloud Directions During Rainy Season

1992–1993 W No specific direction could be ascertained

1993-1994 No specific direction could be ascertained No specific direction could be ascertained

1994–1995 No specific direction could be ascertained No specific direction could be ascertained


1996-1997 NE No specific direction could be ascertained



1999–2000 NE No specific direction could be ascertained

2000-2001 No specific direction could be ascertained No specific direction could be ascertained

2001–2002 Insufficient Data No Data

279



Table 56. Wind directions over Tirupati during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Wind Direction During Cloud Foetus Formation Periodover Tirupati Wind Direction During Rainy Season over Tirupati

1992–1993 NNE,NE,SSW,S,SSE,N,SW,W,ENE SW,SSW,WSW,WNW,W,NW,NE,NNE

1993-1994 NE,SSW,NNE,SW,ESE,S,ENE,SSE,WSW SW,SSW,WSW,NE,NNE,S,W,NW,SSE

1994–1995 NE,NNE,SSW,SW,E,SSE,SE,ESE,N NW,NE,SW,SSW,W,WNW,S,NNE,WSW

1995–1996 NE,E,SW,ENE,SSW,S,W,ESE,NNE,SSE NW,SW,NE,W,N,NNW,NNE,S,SSW,ENE

1996-1997 NE,SSW,SW,ENE,S,WSW,E,W SW,W,E,SSW,NNW,WSW,NNE,NE,S

1997–1998 SW,NE,ENE,SSW,S,NNE,W,E,WSW SSW,SW,NW,NNW,S,WSW,W,NNE,NE

1998–1999 NE,ENE,SSW,NNE,SW,E,S,NNW W,SW,WSW,NNW,NW,WNW,NE,ENE

1999–2000 ENE,NE,SW,SSW,E,NNE,SE,WSW W,SW,NW,NNW,SSW,WSW,NE,E,WNW

2000-2001 ENE,NE,SSW,SW,W,E,S,WSW W,SW,WNW,NW,NNW,WSW,SSW,NE

2001–2002 NE,SSW,ENE,SW,E,S,SE,WSW W,SW,WSW,NNW,NW,WNW,SSW,NE

Table 55. Cloud directions over Port Blair during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Observed Cloud Directions During Cloud Foetus FormationPeriod over Port Blair

Port Blair Cloud Directions During RainySeason

1992–1993 N,E,S,NE,SE,SW,W E,S,W,SW

1993-1994 E,S,W, NE,SE,SW N,E,S,W,NE,SW

1994–1995 N,E,S,NE N,E,S,W,NE,SE,SW

1995–1996 E,NE E,S,W,SW,SE,NE,NW

1996-1997 N,E,S,W,NE,SE W,SW,SE,S,NE,E

1997–1998 N,E,NE,SE,W,S,SW,NW N,E,S,W,NW,SE,SW

1998–1999 N,E,W,S,SE,NE,NW,SW W,SW,E,SE,S,NE,NW

1999–2000 N,E,W,S,NW,NE,SE W,SW,NE,S,SE,E

2000-2001 N,E,W,S,NE,NW,SE E,S,W,SW,SE,NE

2001–2002 NE,E,SE SW,W,S,E,NE,SE

Table 57. Wind directions over Ajmer during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Wind Direction During Cloud Foetus FormationPeriod over Ajmer Wind Direction During Rainy Season over Ajmer

1992–1993 SW,N,NE,S,W,NW,SE SW,W,N,NW,NE,SE,E,S,WSW

1993-1994 SW,N,NE,S,W,NW,SE,E,SSE SW,W,NE,N,NW,S,SE,E

1994–1995 SW,N,W,NE,SE,S,NW,WNW SW,W,NE,N,NW,S,SE,E,WNW

1995–1996 N,SW,NE,S,W,SE,E,NW,WSW SW,W,N,NE,NW,S,E,SE

1996-1997 SW,N,S,NE,W,SE,NW,E,ESE SW,W,N,NE,S,NW,WSW

1997–1998 N,SW,S,W,NE,SE,NW,E,WSW,SSE SW,N,W,NE,NW,S,SE,E

1998–1999 N,SW,W,S,NE,SE,NW SW,W,N,NW,S,NE,E,SE,WNW

1999–2000 SW,W,N,S,NE,NW,WSW,E,SE SW,W,NW,N,NE,S,E,SE

2000-2001 SW,N,W,S,NW,NE,E,SE SW,W,N,NW,NE,SE

2001–2002 SW,W,N,S,NW,NE,E,SE,WSW SW,W,N,NW,SE,NE,S,E,WSW

280



XXII. The four days commencing from the 8th

lunar day of the bright fortnight ofJyeshtha month are sustained by winds.These days are called Vaayu dhaaranas. Itwill prove beneficial if they areaccompanied by soft and auspiciousbreezes from north, north-east and east.

In the Brihat Samhita, it has been stated thatwesterly winds also result in copious rainfall inthe regions. This particular period specified inthe prediction starts just around the time whenthe gestation period of cloud foetuses iscomplete and they are ready to deliver the initialrains of the season. Tables 40-43 give a lucidillustration of the wind velocities, prevalent

wind directions and total seasonal rainfall duringthe respective years over the four stations duringthe period of study.

XXIII. In the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha month,if it rains in the four lunar mansionsbeginning with Swati, the four monthscommencing from Sraavana would beretainers of rain in order i.e. if there israin in the star Swati, there would be norain in the month of Sraavana. If there israin in the star Visaakha, no rain inBhaadrapada month; if there is rain in thestar Anuraadha, no rain in Aaswayujamonth and if there is rain in the star

Table 59. Wind directions over Port Blair during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Wind Direction During Cloud Foetus Formation Periodover Port Blair Wind Direction During Rainy Season over Port Blair

1992–1993 NE,E,NW,N,SW,NNE,W,SE SW,WSW,W,NW,S,SSW,E,N,SE

1993-1994 E,NE,ENE,SE,NW,ESE,WSW,NNE,NNW W,WSW,E,NW,SW,WNW,NE,ENE

1994–1995 NE,NNE,N,E,ENE,NW,SE,NNW SW,WSW,SSW,W,S,E,NE,SE,ESE

1995–1996 NE,ENE,NNE,E,N,NNW,ESE,W,NW SW,WSW,W,SSW,S,WNW,SSE,SE,NW

1996-1997 NE,ENE,E,NNE,W,N,NW,NNW SW,W,WSW,E,NE,SE,SSW,ENE

1997–1998 NE,E,ENE,NNE,ESE,NW,W,SW SW,W,WSW,S,SE,WNW,NW,E

1998–1999 E,ENE,NE,W,SW,WNW,ESE,NNW SW,WSW,W,NW,WNW,SE,E,NNW

1999–2000 NE,ENE,E,NNE,ESE,NW,NNW,N,S W,WSW,SW,NW,WNW,E,NE,SE,ESE

2000-2001 NE,ENE,E,NNE,W,NW,N W,SW,WSW,WNW,SSW,S,NW,ESE

2001–2002 NE,E,ENE,W,NNE W,WSW,SW,E,WNW,SE,S,NE, SSW

Table 58. Wind directions over Shillong during the period of cloud foetus formation and during the rainy season

Year Wind Direction During Cloud Foetus FormationPeriod over Shillong Wind Direction During Rainy Season over Shillong

1992–1993 W,SW,NW,SE,NE,E,S,NNE SW,NW,W,SE,S,N,NE,E

1993-1994 SW,W,NW,SE,N,E,NE,S SE,SW,NW,W,S,N,E,NE

1994–1995 W,SW,NW,E,N,SE,S,WSW SW,E,W,S,NW,SE,N,NE

1995–1996 W,SW,NW,E,N,NE,SE,S SW,S,SE,NW,W,N,E,WSW

1996-1997 SW,NW,W,E,N,SE,S,NE SW,SE,NW,E,S,W,NE,N

1997–1998 SW,W,NW,SE,E,NNW,N,S SW,W,NW,NNW,NE,SE,N,E

1998–1999 SW,N,NW,W,SE,E,NNW,NE,WSW SW,W,NW,N,NE,SE,S,WNW,E

1999–2000 SW,W,NW,E,N,S,WSW SW,W,SE,E,NW,S

2000-2001 SW,W,NW,WNW,E,SE,WSW,NE SW,SE,NW,E,S,NE,N,WSW

2001–2002 Insufficient Data Insufficient Data

281



Jyeshtha, then, there will be no rain in themonth of Kaarthika.

An attempt has been made to assess therationality of the prediction over the four regionsduring the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha. It isdirected by Varaaha Mihira that the days ruledby lunar mansions Swaati, Visaakha, Anuraadhaand Jyeshtha should be taken into consideration.Generally, a lunar month is named after the starwith which the moon is conjoined with on theday of the full moon (Poornima). So, in ourpresent discussion, in Jyeshtha month, duringthe full moon or the fifteenth day of the brightfortnight (Shukla Paksham), the Moon is inconjunction with the star Jyeshtha. Hence, aconclusion can be drawn out of this, that thedays referred to here are the last four days i.e.,Dwaadasi, Trayodasi, Chaturdasi and Poornima(12th , 13th , 14th and the 15th days respectively)of the bright fortnight of the Jyeshtha monthwhen the lunar conjunction takes place with thenakshatrams Swaati, Visaakha, Anuraadha andJyeshtha respectively. Tables 44 – 47 representthis very concept by verifying whether there wasany rainfall during the months of retention(mentioned in the prediction) over the fourregions during the study period.

XXVa). If there happens to be rainfall in theasterisms of Hasta, Purvaashaadha, Mrigasira,Chitra, Revati and Dhanishtha, the total rainfallin the rainy season would be 16 Dronas.b). If it rains under the asterisms Shatabhishak,Jyeshtha and Swaati, the rainfall amounts to 4Dronas.c). If it happens in the asterism Krittika, it willbe 10 Dronas.d). 14 Dronas of rainfall is can be expectedduring the season if it rains under the starsSravana, Makha, Anuraadha, Bharani andMoola.e). If it rains in Poorva Phalguni, then, the totalrainfall would be 25 Dronas.

f). One could predict 20 Dronas of rainfall if itrains in Punarvasu star.g). If it rains in the stars Visaakha andUttaraashaadha, then, this would yield 20Dronas of rainfall in the season.h). If it rains in Aaslesha star, then, the totalseasonal rainfall would be around 13 Dronas.i). A rainfall of 25 Dronas can be predicted if itshowers under the stars Uttaraabhaadra, UttaraPhalguni and Rohini.j). When the rainfall occurs in Purvaabhaadraand Pushya stars, then, the total precipitationwould be equal to 15 Dronas in quantity.k). In Aswini star, a rainfall would indicate atotal rainfall of 12 Dronas during the monsoonseason.l). If it happens to rain on the day reigned byAardra star, then, the aggregate precipitationduring the season may be placed at about 18Dronas.Hence, the first 27-28 days of the initial periodof rainfall during a year have been considered asthey envelope a single cycle of the days ruled byall the 27 asterisms. The period after the fullmoon in the month of Jyeshtha, beginning on theday ruled by Poorvaashaadha, has beenconsidered for this purpose i.e. to judge thequantity of rainfall during the season, asspecified by Varaaha Mihira (Chapter XXIII,Pravarshanaadhyaayaha, Slokam 1).

The star groupings specified in the aboveprediction may not comply with the actualpatterns of rain-bearing stars during the givenperiod. Hence, in case of total difference withthe groupings in the prediction, an ambiguityarises as to which particular star/star groupinghas to be considered for weighing the predictionagainst the modern data. Here, again the BrihatSamhita comes to our rescue by stating thuscategorically:

“Should there be rain in the lunar mansionsbeginning with Poorvaashaadha after the fullmoon in the month of Jyeshtha, the quantity ofrainfall during the rainy season can be judgedbased on the rainfall during this period.

282



Fig.2. Cloud Direction versus Rainfall over the four regions during the period ofstudy

283



Fig.3. Wind direction versus rainfall over the four regions during the period of study

284



Fig.4. Predicted Rainfall versus actual Rainfall based on the nakshatram of initialrainfall

285



The quantity of rainfall should be gauged on theday ruled by any of the rain-producing asterisms(headed by Poorvaashaadha star), when there israin for the first time, through the amount ofrain by which the earth is cleared of dust, ordrops of water are made to appear on the tips ofblades of grass” (Chapter XXIII,Pravarshanaadhyaayaha, slokam 1).

Hence, it can be asserted unequivocally that thestar in which the initial rainfall occurs during theseason is pivotal to determine the prospect ofrainfall over the entire season. Varaaha Mihiraalso assists us by stating the physical criteria,based on which the initial day of rainfall is to beidentified (earth is cleared of dust and drops ofrain made to appear on the tips of blades ofgrass). Hence, bearing this in contention, wehave considered only those days when therainfall was greater than or equal to 1 mm.Consequently, it follows that the first instance,after the Full Moon in the month of Jyeshtha,counted from the day ruled by the asterismPoorvaashaadha, in which the rainfall is greaterthan or equal to 1 mm. during the period (27 - 28days) is taken to be the initial day of rainfall andthe asterism prevalent over that particular dayhas been considered for the purpose ofcomparison.

Tables 48-51 portray the days of initial phase ofrainfall during the season in a given year alongwith the nakshatrams under which theprecipitation occurred. This is accompanied by acomparison of the actual tangible rainfall withthe envisioned rainfall value, going by theBrihat Samhita. (One Drona of Rainfall = 6.4cm.). From the tables, it is quite clear that thepredicted rainfall values are within someconsiderable vicinity of the measured rainfallvalues over Shillong, Port Blair and evenTirupati, with maximum proximity observedover Port Blair. However, in case of Ajmer,there are yawning gaps between the two sets ofvalues during the period of study (Tables 48 –51). These trends have been portrayedgraphically in Fig. 4.

In Tirupati, Ajmer and Shillong, the predictedrainfall values were greater than the recordedrainfall values, while in Port Blair, this wasreciprocated, i.e. the recorded rainfall valueswere greater than the predicted precipitationquantities.

XXVI. The direction of clouds at the time of cloudfoetus formation is reversed at the time oftheir delivery during the rainy season.Clouds formed in the East will pour downrain in the West and vice versa. The sameholds good for other pairs ofquarters/directions (North-South; North-East and South-West; North-West andSouth-East) (BS, XXI, Garbha Lakshanam,slokam 13)

The cloud directions over Tirupati during theperiod of rainy season were significantlyopposite to the directions observed during theperiod of formation of cloud fetuses in 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1994-1995 and to some extentin 1997-1998 (Table 52). In Ajmer, during 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1996-1997 and 1997-1998,the directions were found to be reversed duringboth the fore stated periods of time (Table 53).Since there was no perceptible data availableover Shillong during the period of study, nosolid comparisons could be sketched outregarding this prediction (Table 54). Most of theinstances over Port Blair coincided with theprediction as in majority of the episodes,mutually opposite cloud directions wereobserved during the course of the both theperiods (Table 55). Hence, this prediction seemsto be in vigorous terms with the real-timeobservations, as seen from the comparison.

XXVII. The winds also follow the sametrend mentioned above, i.e. the direction ofwind at the time of cloud formation isreversed at the time of rainfall (East-West,North-South, etc.) (BS, XXI, GarbhaLakshanam, slokam 13)

286



The observed wind directions over all the fourstations during the period of study have beentabulated in Tables 56–59. From these, we candeduce without any substantial degree ofdifficulty that, the wind directions observedduring the period of cloud foetus formation overall the stations in deliberation, were promptlyreversed during the period of delivering rain in agiven year during the period of study. Hence,this particular prediction can also be appended tothe list of highly effectual predictions of theBrihat Samhita.

Overall, the rate of correspondence of thepredictions of Brihat Samhita with the on-siterecorded values was generally above 50%.Many a time, it was around 55% - 57%, barringa few cases where there was complete or almostcomplete correlation with the documented data,where the rate of relation ranged from as high as80% to a comprehensive 100%.

ConclusionIn the present work, after meticulous scrutiny, a

total of 797 verses spread over 33 chapters areidentified to be in some way or the other related tometeorology at least in the remotest of the terms.Out of these, about 75 predictions are designated tobe included in this article, of which, 48 arecategorized to be placed under qualitativepredictions and the rest 27 of them are picked up tocarry out the current comparative study.

The predictions are categorized under the 6 sub-heads viz. Predictions based on Venus, Predictionsbased on Raahu’s course (pertaining to eclipses),Predictions based on planetary conjunctions,Prediction for the Sun’s entry into Aardra star,Predictions based on the directions of clouds andwinds and lastly, predictions based on lunarconjunctions. All the results have been tabulatedelaborately and graphical illustrations have beenprovided duly wherever necessary.

The concept of cloud pregnancy and subsequentdelivery of rain after the 195 days of cloud foetusgestation is a unique and quintessential feature ofthe Brihat Samhita. Expert astrologers were often

able to predict the onset, circulation andwithdrawal of monsoons, about famines, droughtsand other disasters, when the modernmeasurements as well as modeling techniquesfailed to do so. Prediction of rainfall trends hassomehow managed to brow-beat all the advances inmodern meteorology from time to time.

Most of the predictions stand validated duringmajority of the instances. A further study byemploying most sophisticated astronomicalapparatus to assess the efficacy of the astrology-based predictions would pave way for the creationof a comprehensive, reliable and a completelyaccountable prediction system that could be readilycounted upon even at times of crises.

The inimitable virtuous trait of Varaaha Mihirais that he exhibits great scientific temper and doesnot blindly support some prevalent antiquatednotions. He seeks to explain them on solidscientific grounds using sound rational platform.For example, about the age-old belief that a eclipseis caused by Raahu, has been treated by VaraahaMihira in the following manner:

“In case Raahu has a body and moves in thezodiac possessing only the head and a circularshape, how is it that he seizes the luminaries whoare separated from him by 1800, when his ownmovement is fixed and uniform? If, on the otherhand, his motion is not fixed, how is it that hisexact position is determined by calculation? If he isto be identified only by his tail and face, whyshould he not seize the luminaries (Sun and Moon)at other intervals, instead of only when 1800 apart?If this Raahu who is a big serpent in appearance,actually seizes the Sun or the Moon with his tail ormouth, why should he not obstruct half of thezodiac that lies between his head and tail? If therebe two Raahus, when the moon is eclipsed by oneRaahu, then, the Sun who is 1800 away from theMoon should also be eclipsed by the other Raahuwhose rate of motion is also equal to that of Raahu.

At a lunar eclipse, the moon enters the shadowof the earth and at a solar eclipse; Moon enters theSun’s disc. That is the reason why the lunar eclipse

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does not begin at the western limb, nor the solarone at the eastern limb. In this manner, the ancientseers who were endowed with divine insight haveexplained the causes of eclipses. Hence, thescientific fact is that Raahu is not at all the cause ofeclipses. An eclipse can by no means beascertained through omens and other indicationsbecause portents such as fall of meteors and earthtremors occur at other times as well” (The BrihatSamhita, Chapter V, Raahu Chaaraha, slokams 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14).

From this, it is predominantly evident thatdespite his reverence and veneration for ancientreligious traditions, Varaaha Mihira is vehementlyreluctant to let certain proprietary scientific facts tobe diluted with widespread beliefs and notions andeven attempts to seal this lacuna with someplausible, balanced and coherent postulations. Healso urges the readers to understand the scientificsymbolism embedded in such stories. Moreover,Varaha Mihira, inspite of his ingenious, nifty andcrafty contributions, very humbly admits andacknowledges that he has presented nothing noveland creative and all this knowledge had beeninherited from the innovations of the ancient seersand sages. Hence, indubitably, Varaha Mihira canbe certified as a ‘champion campaigner’, in whomthe sacrosanct ancient Indian wisdom and nobletraditions are vested and manifested adeptly andcomprehensively. Varaaha Mihira in theconcluding chapter remarks thus: “I have lifted outthe moon of science by churning the ocean ofknowledge with the Mandhara of my intellect sothat, under the moonlight, people may havecorrect vision. I have not left out the findings ofthe ancient Acharyas in this book of mine. May,good people go through my work as well as that ofthe ancient Acharyas. A good man magnifies thevirtue inspite of there being defects, whereas abad man magnifies defects, ignoring the merits. Itis desirable to invite criticism from a bad personas much; as the gold of Kaavya (classic) getspurified by putting it into the fire of a bad man’sintellect. Hence, by all means, even a bad manmust be invited to see this book. A scholar isinvited to look into this work impartially so that he

may know what defects there have accrued by thiswork being handled by different persons, differentscribes as well as by being transmitted by rote.Also, I might have myswelf been at fault or mighthave omitted certain portions. With a mindrendered pure by the Grace of the Sun-God, therishis of yore and my own teachers, I havecodified and compiled this Science. May, mysalutations be to the Acharyas of the yore!”

Given this scenario, it is highly unfortunate thatmany western orientalists still believe andpropagate a misguided theory that Indians hadborrowed everything from Ancient Greeks orYavanas, especially Hindu Astrology. Even somewestern scholars have voiced their concern againstthis proposition saying that the ‘Indians were theteachers rather than learners’. They have allfounded their argument on the pseudo pedestal ofVaraaha Mihira’s statement that “the Yavanas areto be honoured like the sages”.

This particular bogey of imposed Greekinfluence on Indian intellectual heritage has beenpermanently put to rest by Swami Vivekananda’sfortified and resilient arguments thus:

“There may be, it is true, some similaritybetween the Greek and Indian terms in astronomyand so forth, but, the westerners have ignored thedirect Sanskrit etymology and sought for some far-fetched etymology from the Greek. That suchshallow and biased learning has been manifestedby many orientalists in the West is deplorable.From a single Sanskrit sloka that reads, ‘TheYavanas are Mlecchas (foreigners); in them, thisscience is established; therefore, even they deserveworship like Rishis (Sages)……’, in the west, theyhave gone so far as to declare that all Indiansciences are but echoes of the Greek; whereas atrue reading of the sloka may show that theMleccha disciples of the Aryans are herein praisedin order to encourage them to a further study of theAryan Sciences………..”.

This was seen by several eminent scholarsacross the globe, as an irrefutable tactic employedby The Occident (Western World) to showcase,

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project and establish Greece as an obversepromoter of the West, to counteract the justifiedand genuine dominance of The Orient, especiallyIndia, in the arena of the origin and evolution ofmultifarious divisions and sub-divisions of variousarts and sciences. We know that, during the recentcontemporary times, this spot-light shifted quiteperceivably towards Africa and Central Asia.

Sometimes, when we observe rain-bearingclouds gathering in the sky, it may not actually rainand those clouds may disperse within no time,giving way to a clear sky. During some otherinstances, rain droplets may actually start fallingfrom the clouds and one can even view them withnaked eye. But, astonishingly, these showers won’treach the earth’s surface at all. They get evaporatedin mid-air and their trail in the atmosphere can berecognized effortlessly. Such rain is known as‘Virga’. Modern atmospheric science may enlistthe immediate visible reasons for such aphenomenon to occur. But, treatises like BrihatSamhita assert that such phenomena are caused dueto the miscarriage of cloud foetuses, the reasons forwhich have been mentioned and elaboratelyexplained.

Hence, the speedy need of the hour is to studythe treatises like The Brihat Samhita of VaraahaMihira, The Artha Shaastra of Kautilya and othersuch texts, wherein meteorology has been givendue weightage and put those invaluable andmeritorious predictions enshrined in them, to test.In the case of Brihat Samhita, the author VaraahaMihira lived in and around Ujjain in MadhyaPradesh state of India. Hence, there is a fair bit ofprobability that he might have observed the climateof Ujjain and its surroundings while compiling hismagnum opus. Ujjain is a land-locked territory incentral India with typical tropical climate. Hence,the predictions of the Brihat Samhita are found tobe more validated over Tirupati and Ajmer, whichpossess climatic conditions that resemble those ofUjjain to a considerable extent, though Ajmer has atypical desert-type climate. Shillong’s climate canbe classified as sub-tropical high land climate andthat of Port Blair is immensely impacted by the sea

surrounding it. Hence, evidently, in some cases, thepredictions were not found so efficient over thesetwo regions.

But, overall, at a bird’s eye view, we canstraightforwardly arrive at a definitive conclusionthat an all-inclusive study and research over theBrihat Samhita will definitely throw some light oncertain shrouded mysteries concerningmeteorology, that have been puzzling themeteorologists for many a decade. Moreover,Brihat Samhita was compiled some fifteencenturies earlier. Climatic conditions, especiallytemperatures, have undergone tremendous changessince then. Pollution has increased manifold andman has left no stone unturned in degrading thenature’s sensitive ecological balance. Therefore, itwould be too much of an anticipation to expectthese predictions to exhibit the same efficacy thatthey were expected to do, some 1500 years ago.Indiscriminate anthropogenic activity and thesubsequent environmental deterioration is theprincipal culprit here. But, despite all these adverseodds against them, the predictions of the BrihatSamhita managed to score a healthy 55% - 57%,barring a few cases where there was complete oralmost complete correlation with the documenteddata, where the rate of relation ranged from as highas 80% to a comprehensive 100%.

Furthermore, intensive investigation – orientedstudies need to be initiated in this direction, whilethe government and other scientific establishmentsneed to encourage the students and researchers byproviding appropriate incentives and facilitatingResearch & Development on this front.

Before assessing the effectiveness of suchtreatises, the immediate mission of mankind is toput in their pledged and full-fledged ace efforts tobring the already - depreciating atmosphericenvironment back on track, because the entire starand planetary effects and other phenomena arerendered void by the predominant anthropogenichaphazard pollution and toxification. Then alone,can they design and formulate any scientific toolsand prediction models that can be totally reliedupon, without any second thought. When this noble

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manoeuvre is accomplished, then alone, man canfully harvest the fruits of treatises like the BrihatSamhita and hand over a clean, pure, unadulteratedliving environment to his posterity. It is also hispristine and destined duty to preserve such eternaland imperishable treasures like the Brihat Samhitaand other such perpetual scriptures because it is ourordained provident duty to sustain thisquintessential torch of primordial wisdom as itsworthy custodians, so that our future generationscan proudly inherit them from us as a cherishedlineage and use these precious jades as potentialtools to decrypt and decipher the ‘Ever Green’codes and masterly modes of the Mother Nature.

AcknowledgementMy first and foremost salutations to the

Almighty Lord Venkateswara and to my Parents aswell for bestowing upon me the essential strengthand endurance to carry out this study. I am equallyobliged to the Sun-God (Aaditya), to all the planetsof the planetary system and to the 27 nakshatramsfor benevolently instigating the divine driving force(Prachodaka Sakti) required for this extensivework. I feel greatly indebted to the sacred lineageof Scholarly Saints, especially Varaaha Mihira,who have invested their entire whole and soul topresent us with ever-treasurable treatises like theBrihat Samhita and others. My grateful obeisanceto Professor Raama Krishna Bhat (late) forbringing out an exquisitely erudite and a reader-friendly translation of the Brihat Samhita withsome exhaustive literary comments. I take thisgolden opportunity to convey my profoundgratitude to Sri Varun Jain of Motilal BanarsidassPublishers Private Limited (MLBD), New Delhi,for their initiative in providing me the treatisewithin a short notice of one month, despite thevolume being rendered out of print at that point oftime. My heartfelt thankfulness to National DataCentre, India Meteorological Department (IMD),Pune, for the supply of the requestedmeteorological data vital for carrying out thisstudy. Last but not the least; I express my profoundgratefulness and appreciation to Ms. HaripriyaChinthapally, USA for her undaunted, able and

invaluable support as well as meritoriouscooperation in statistical data programming and informatting the article.

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